The promotion of democratic school coexistence and the prevention of violence in schools are essential pillars for the integral development of children and adolescents. They not only represent an ethical commitment but are also fundamental rights enshrined at the international level and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, which promotes inclusive, equitable, and quality education.
Countries in Latin America and Ibero-America have coined a concept used both in schools and in research to study school life beyond academic achievement: convivencia escolar. Its direct translation is school coexistence, and the closest term used in Anglo-Saxon literature is school climate. However, for many Spanish-speaking researchers, these terms are not synonymous, as the concept of convivencia escolar refers to the idea that coexistence is an end in itself—not just a means to achieve good learning—and thus, coexistence is also a learning objective: one learns to coexist. This concept, socio-historically situated in Spain and Latin America, is also deeply connected to changes and transformations in educational research and intervention at a global level, particularly those related to UNESCO's guidelines for the development of democratic, participatory, and inclusive education.
In this international context, various initiatives have been developed at the local level to address violence prevention and strengthen school coexistence. In the case of the host country, Chile, a systematic trajectory of public policies has consolidated structures and mechanisms to strengthen these objectives.
En este escenario internacional, regional y local, nos complace presentarles el X Congreso Mundial sobre Convivencia y Violencia en la Escuela (#WCSV2025) que se desarrollará bajo el lema “Diálogos que Fortalecen Comunidades Educativas y Territorios” durante los días 28, 29 y 30 de octubre de 2025 en Valparaíso, Chile. Este encuentro bianual es organizado por el Observatorio Internacional de Clima Escolar y Prevención de la Violencia (IOSCVP), siendo la institución anfitriona de la décima edición la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, en colaboración con un comité organizador compuesto por investigadores/as de nueve universidades chilenas.
This scientific event brings together researchers, policy makers, teachers and education professionals from around the world. The thematic emphasis of the 2025 edition will focus on the prevention of school violence and the promotion of school coexistence in localities, countries and regions of the world with high levels of social and educational inequality. We seek to bring together contributions that enrich international discussions and research on violence prevention, the promotion of school climate and the feeling of safety in schools, by including experiences and innovations at the classroom, school and district levels. Our purpose is to create a space where rigorous knowledge is shared and generated on the improvement of coexistence and the prevention of violence in schools, not only of a face-to-face nature, but also taking into account virtual contexts.
The tenth edition of the World Congress, as well as the ninth that took place in Seville in 2023, will provide an invaluable opportunity for attendees to establish contacts, engage in discourse with representatives and attendees from diverse geographical regions, and interact with agents of public policy pertinent to the subject matter. To facilitate cross-cultural collaboration, the congress will provide simultaneous translation (Spanish-English) and sign language interpretation of the plenary lectures.
The relevance of the congress is high, mainly because of the objectives it pursues and the impact it can have on improving the quality of life of school communities. Identifying good practices on how to promote democratic, inclusive and peaceful coexistence in our educational contexts, taking into account virtual spaces, and how to improve the prevention of violence in schools, are important challenges to achieve an inclusive, equitable and quality education. This has been the objective of the High Level Regional Meeting for the Prevention and Addressing of Violence in the Education Sector convened by UNESCO and the Ministry of Education of Colombia in November 2025, whose meeting with Ministers of Education and their delegations hopes that the leaders of the region will formulate a plan of action to strengthen cooperation and technical exchange between countries, and consolidate commitments to effectively address violence in education. UNICEF and the Organization of Ibero-American States also hold the prevention of violence and the promotion of coexistence in educational contexts as one of their strategic objectives in education.
In addition to the undoubted scientific interest of this major event, there is also the impact on public policies to improve school coexistence and optimize the prevention of violence in schools. For this reason, in addition to bringing together the international scientific community, this event also offers meeting and learning spaces for teachers and education professionals, as well as for decision-makers in school violence and coexistence policies.
Welcome to this 10th World Congress on Coexistence and School Violence. On this page you will find information of interest to plan your trip and the submission of papers and symposia. We hope you can enjoy the warmth and hospitality of the Chilean people and the efforts of teachers, education professionals, researchers and policy makers to improve coexistence in our country, and that we can learn from you.
Dra. Verónica López Leiva
President of #WCSV2025
Who is this Congress for?
The congress aims to be a nexus for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and methods between the scientific community of different disciplines (education, psychology, sociology, neuroscience, media or political science), agents of public education policies and educators working in the education system.
Where?
Who is this Congress for?It will be held at the Central Campus of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile.
