Sponsoring International Congresses of Psychology at regular intervals (now every four years). The 30^th Congress was in Cape Town, South Africa in 2012, and the 2016 31^st Congress will be in Yokohama, Japan. Click here for a complete list of International Congresses of Psychology

Organizing and/or issuing publications, including the International Journal of Psychology; Psychology Global Resource (until 2008, available as a CD with international psychology information and resources; now available on-line); Proceedings of the International Congresses; the International Handbook of Psychological Science; the History of the Union, and various occasional publications. Further information on publications of the Union is given in the section on publications below.

Participating in major international organizations, including the International Social Science Council (ISSC) , the International Council for Science (ICSU), UNESCO, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Fostering communication among IUPsyS National Members and addressing issues raised by them.

Organizing or co-sponsoring Regional Conferences of Psychology aimed at promoting psychology and addressing psychological issues and themes of special relevance to the region. Regional conferences are held in cooperation with other international organizations. The first regional conference was the Asian-Pacific Regional Conference on Psychology, held in Guangzhou, China, in 1995 (also supported by the International Association of Applied Psychology and the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology). Subsequent regional conferences have been held in South Africa, India, Dubai, Thailand, Jordan, Bulgaria and The Bahamas.

Sponsoring and accomplishing projects that foster the development of psychology and international and professional cooperation. These have included national capacity building workshops at International Congresses and regional conferences and the development of international networks (International Network of Psychology and the Developing World, International Network on the Young Child and the Family, Healthnet). The Union has run or co-ordinated a number of regional workshops: further details can be seen on our Workshops page. The IUPsyS is the host for the global information resource Psychology Around the World.

Encouraging the development of psychology as a science and a profession.

Encouraging psychologists from developing countries to participate in International Congresses of Psychology and to benefit from special training seminars. For these purposes, the Union initiated Advanced Research Training Seminars (ARTS) for psychologists from developing countries in conjunction with the Brussels Congress in 1992. In collaboration with the IAAP, IACCP and other organizations, the Union has organized a series of ARTS, that take place every two years at a major international Congress.

Each year the Secretary-General of the Union produces an Annual Report that includes a summary of the activities of the Unionfor the previous year.