At the recent 2026 ACBS World Conference in Lyon, France, our Project NPA Professor Josephine Wong and Co-PA Dr. Kenneth Fung proudly represented our team by presenting our latest research poster. The Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences (ACBS) is a prominent global community of scholars, researchers, educators, practitioners, and members with shared interests in applying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and contextual behavioral science (CBS) to promote health and wellbeing. Our presentation highlighted the powerful synergy of integrating collective empowerment with ACT to reduce stigma, enhance self-compassion, and foster collective resilience.

The key learning of the poster entitled “Integrating Empowerment Strategies with ACT to Reduce HIV Stigma and Promote Collective Resilience” showcased at the conference was the powerful real-world impact of moving psychological flexibility beyond the individual level and into macro-level community health. Our study demonstrated that pairing ACT with collective empowerment helps steer internal, personal resilience toward active engagement in community change. We shared strong evidence showing that as participants’ empowerment readiness and self-compassion grew, they mobilized into active praxis—collectively organizing nearly a thousand community-led activities that reached over 16,000 people to challenge stigma and build supportive networks. This evidence proved that systematically marginalized groups do not have to merely adapt to a stigmatizing environment; they can be actively equipped to transform it.

Our presentation sparked rich dialogues and generated immense international interest from researchers across the UK, the US, and Asia. Many attendees were eager to learn more about our group empowerment strategies, with specific discussions taking place around adapting the ACE model to support trans populations in the UK and gay/MSM communities in Hong Kong. We are incredibly excited about these emerging global collaborations and look forward to supporting these international teams as we work together to expand the reach of the ACE model worldwide.

Attached Poster PDF
Integrating Empowerment Strategies with ACT to Reduce HIV Stigma and Promote Collective Resilience