Global Chair of IPEN, Dr Anne Johnstone, led a panel of distinguished international speakers for the International Positive Education Network (IPEN) Global Showcase Symposium at the 2025 International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) World Congress in Brisbane.
Speakers shared valuable insights into effective positive education interventions and their powerful impact, highlighting the growing momentum of positive education across continents and diverse educational settings.
“The Symposium demonstrated the remarkable reach and effectiveness of positive education approaches around the world,” says Dr Johnstone. “The speakers shared compelling evidence-based strategies for driving meaningful change in schools, universities and communities globally.”
The esteemed lineup of international speakers at the Symposium included:
* Dr Anne Johnstone, Global Chair of IPEN and Principal of Ravenswood School for Girls, and Kate Barbat, Head of Positive Education at Ravenswood, who shared insights from Ravenswood’s world-leading positive education program.
* Christopher Stawski, Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow at the Kern Family Foundation, Chair USPEN and Secretary of IPEN, presented on the growth of character, flourishing and wellbeing in U.S. higher education.
* Rosalinda Ballesteros-Valdes, Director for the Institute of Wellbeing Science Universidad TecMilenio and Deputy Chair IPEN, highlighted innovations in Mexico where all undergraduates are required to take part in 8 weekly Character Strengths workshops.
* Sean Abrahams, Program Director, University of Cape Town University Centre for Wellbeing and Flourishing, presented on UCT Flourish, a program designed to integrate individual growth, community engagement and institutional impact with a distinctly African vision. Sean also shared research on the flourishing continuum, ranging from Narma (the model of languishing) and Perma (the model of flourishing).
* Vishwas Choksi, Founder, Sports for All (SFA), India, demonstrated the effectiveness of positive psychology principles when applied in youth sports, a path to potentially enhancing the wellbeing of millions of young people.
* Antony Li, Director, Bei Shan Tang Foundation Hong Kong, and Samantha Wong, Researcher at Bei Shan Tang Foundation, presented data on the evolution of positive education in over 500 schools in Hong Kong over the past decade.
* Angele Papantoniou, IPEN Greece, IPEN Board Member, Founder and Director of Human Flourishing Movement, and Esmeralda Tsichlis, IPEN Greece and Ambassador of Human Flourishing Movement, shared a case study of character strength cultivation through the GivingTwoYou toolkit.
Highlighting IPEN’s role as a global platform for connecting positive education researchers, educators and practitioners, the Symposium shared a diverse range of evidence-based practices, and their measurable impact on student accomplishment and wellbeing.
“Young people are our future and, by empowering educators with evidence-based strategies to building resilience, positive emotion and agency in students, we also strengthen whole community wellbeing, which benefits everyone,” says Dr Johnstone.
