In connection with World Animal Day, a two-day International Anthrozoology Conference was organized on Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Child Education and Special Education in Hajdúböszörmény. At the event, renowned Hungarian and international researchers studying human-animal relations shared their latest scientific findings in 16 sections and more than 60 presentations.
At the opening ceremony, Erzsébet Gortka-Rákó, dean of the Faculty of Child Education and Special Education (GYGYK) of the University of Debrecen (UD), said that the faculty has been increasingly focusing on the teaching and research of so-called animal-assisted activities.
“In today’s society, the role of animals, especially companion animals, seems to be gaining importance. For animal-assisted interventions to be effective tools, we must first understand human-animal relationships. We believe it is important, through teacher training, to teach children how to relate to animals properly and kindly,” explained Erzsébet Gortka-Rákó.
The dean added that a few years ago, animal-assisted activities were introduced as an elective subject in undergraduate education, which proved so successful that the faculty later decided to launch it as a specialized postgraduate program for teachers with at least three years of professional experience. This gave rise to the animal-assisted pedagogy program, which, due to growing demand, was eventually opened to doctors and psychologists as well.
Erzsébet Gortka-Rákó also reported that in recent years the faculty has made major advances not only in teaching but also in research, for example by developing several dog-related databases. The Anthrozoology Research Group, which also organized this conference, was established. Cooperation agreements have been concluded with research groups at the universities of Pécs and Szeged studying human-animal and nature-animal relations, and an anthrozoology book series has been launched.
The opening plenary lecture of the conference, which was attended by several hundred participants, was delivered by Vilmos Csányi, Széchenyi Prize-winning Hungarian biologist, biochemist, and ethologist, who explored the question of whether animals think.
During the two days of the International Anthrozoology Conference, more than 60 presenters from 10 countries shared their scientific results in 16 sections, including four in English.
(unideb.hu)
