Post by Humboldt Science Center for Child Development (HumanKind)

#HumanKind at ISSBD 2026: From #Leipzig to the world 🌏 Eight researchers from the Humboldt Science Center for Child Development (HumanKind), Universität Leipzig, joined approximately 1,000 developmental scientists from around the world at the 28th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development in #Incheon, South Korea. HumanKind has a particularly close connection to this global community: our Founding Director, Tina Malti is the current President of the ISSBD Org. In her welcome address, she invited developmental scientists from around the world to exchange research, discuss emerging trends, and jointly explore new directions for the field. HumanKind researchers contributed to this dialogue with work on: ▪ developmental and contextual predictors of prosociality in refugee children ▪ an interactive world map of global trauma interventions ▪ caring family and peer relationships across adolescence ▪ social-emotional development in early childhood education ▪ the adaptation and implementation of the RAISE approach in Germany Dr. Philipp Berger’s interactive map of trauma intervention research attracted considerable international interest and encouraged the team to consider how it could be made available to researchers worldwide. Marian Schulz and Sina Gibhardt presented the #RAISE research-practice partnership and discussed how children, caregivers, and educators can be engaged in a multi-level approach. A central theme was how context-sensitive adaptation can be balanced with scientific rigor and implementation fidelity. The conference highlighted three broader insights: ▪ Effective intervention research needs a clearly formulated Theory of Change. ▪ High-quality interventions require years of iterative development and close collaboration with practice partners. ▪ Kindness is becoming an increasingly important international field of developmental research. The strong HumanKind presence increased the visibility of our work, strengthened existing relationships, and opened new opportunities for international collaboration. Beyond the conference, Incheon also offered a glimpse into an increasingly digital future – from automated services to shops operating without on-site staff. Thank you to Tina Malti, #PhilippBerger, Marian Schulz, Sina Gibhardt, Dr. Katrin Rothmaler, Marlon Goering, Negar Asghari, #TalOrlitsky – the entire HumanKind delegation for representing our centre and contributing to this global scientific community. Founded in 1969, the #ISSBD is one of the leading international societies for developmental science. Its network connects thousands of researchers from more than 70 countries and promotes interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and cross-national perspectives on human development. #HumanKind #ISSBD2026 #DevelopmentalPsychology #ChildDevelopment #InterventionResearch #Prosociality #Kindness #InternationalResearch #FromLeipzigToTheWorld (C) Negar Asghari and Dr. Katrin Rothmaler

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