Malanginspirasi.com – The Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Merdeka Malang (UNMER) successfully held the inaugural PoPsy Festival 2025 (Positive Psychology Festival) on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, a free public event designed to introduce the importance of positive psychology to students and the wider community.
Organised as the final project for around 200 students from six Positive Psychology classes, the festival offered a variety of engaging activities including fun games, role-playing, entertaining practices, journaling, a gratitude wall, and hope booths. All aimed at uncovering the positive traits within every individual.
“Many people still associate psychology only with depression, anxiety, or clinical disorders,” explained course lecturer Al Thuba Septa Priyanggasari, S.Psi., M.Psi.
“But positive psychology emphasises that every human being has inherent positive traits. If we don’t nurture them, they remain hidden,” she said.
Activities such as the gratitude wall and hope booths, Al Thuba added, help participants recognise and appreciate the positive aspects of their lives that are often overlooked amid daily negativity.
The festival was deliberately open and free to the public, attracting university students, families, and even young children from early childhood education centres (PAUD), who enjoyed the cheerful, positive atmosphere created by the student organisers.
For Fun, Not Competition
Despite only five days of preparation by the core committee, the event ran smoothly thanks to the creativity and commitment of all participating students, each managing their own activity booth.
Notably, student projects were not turned into a competition.
“We truly value every piece of work born from their creativity and hard effort,” Al stressed.
“The result far exceeded our expectations – the students gave their all and genuinely translated the course material into activities with real positive impact,” she added.
Looking ahead, the faculty hopes to make PoPsy Festival an annual event while using data collected – such as messages from the gratitude wall – to produce scientific publications that further spread the message of positive psychology.
With overwhelming enthusiasm from both students and visitors, PoPsy Festival 2025 marks a promising first step in shifting public understanding. Psychology is not only about fixing problems, but also about helping every individual flourish and grow.
