Global Character Alliance Newsletter
April 2026
Conferences and Events
A Milestone for Character Education in Latin America: Dandelion’s Congress
As part of the Global Character Alliance, the Latin American Congress on Character Education was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, strengthening the region’s network. It gathered over 40 ministers, as well as policymakers, educators, and leaders to foster dialogue. A pre-conference at Palacio San Martín featured James Arthur and Andreas Schleicher, with 30+ speakers from 15 countries. The main congress welcomed 600+ participants, advancing a shared conversation and positioning character education as a growing priority across Latin America.
Webinar: 'Building an Institutional Culture of Character'
Building an institutional culture to support character formation efforts is a complex task, requiring significant investment and commitment from institutional leaders, including presidents, provosts, deans, and department chairs, as well as deep engagement across faculty and staff at all levels of implementation. It also requires attention to an organization’s structural dimensions that can scaffold and sustain programming. In this webinar, we engage with leaders from three grantee institutions who have been particularly attentive to the complex, multifaceted work of building a culture for character formation, and we learn from their efforts to create a culture that forms character as a core dimension of the institution’s mission.
![[webinar] 2026 04 institutional culture (square)](https://globalcharacteralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/WEBINAR-2026_04-Institutional-Culture-SQUARE-1024x1024.png "April Newsletter")
ACE Conferences 2026 - Registration Now Open
Fusing theory with practice is the theme for this year’s ACE conferences. Keynote speakers, practical workshops, and valuable networking with like-minded educators will shape the events. Conference attendance is an exclusive benefit of ACE membership. Leeds, 24 June. Reading, 8 July. Places are limited, so early booking is advised.
Advancing Character Across Education Host 2026 Annual Conference
This year’s conference, entitled Ancient Foundations, Modern Horizons: Character in Today’s World, invited participants to draw on enduring wisdom while looking forward to the future. Hosted in Tempe, Arizona, the 3 day convening from 2nd – 4th March 2026 saw two keynote speakers: Dr. Kadeem Ruiz (rocketship Wisconsin) and Dr. Darcia Narvaez (University of Notre Dame) amongst many further Breakout and Panel sessions.
National Seminar 2026: Global Trends in Public Policy and Their Application to School Reality
The Chilean Network for Character Education, in conjunction with the School of Education of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Los Andes University is organizing this National Seminar on Character Education. It will take place on Tuesday, June 16 in the University. Our international guest will be Agustín Porres (Regional Director for Latin America of the Varkey Foundation). There will also be two roundtables: “Chilean Reality and Public Policy” and “Educating in Virtues: The Impact on Students”. The opening of the seminar will feature welcoming remarks from the Minister of Education, María Paz Arzola.
Online Presentation of Spanish Translation of the Jubilee Centre's Framework for Virtue-Based Professional Ethics
Tom Harrison (Director, Jubilee Centre, University of Birmingham), Andrew Peterson (Professor, Jubilee Centre, University of Birmingham), Javier Muñoz del Guayo (Chief Compliance Officer, Banco Santander), José M. Torralba (Director, Civic Humanism Center for Character and Professional Ethics, Universidad de Navarra) will present the new Spanish translation of the Jubilee Centre’s Framework for Virtue-Based Professional Ethics. Tuesday, 19 May, 3pm London / 4pm Madrid / 9am México D.F. / 12 pm Santiago de Chile.
Greater Good Educators "Flourishing Schools" Community of Practice (Fall 2026)
The Greater Good Educators Program from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center brings educators together from around the world to learn about the science of individual and collective well-being in schools. Join our Fall 2026 cohort and come away nourished, inspired, and connected to other educators working for the greater good. Sept-Nov 2026: Flourishing Schools: Exploring Purpose, Empathy, and Gratitude (9 virtual sessions with flexible meeting times).
Call for Papers: The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues’ 15th Annual Conference
The Centre is now accepting proposals for its 15th annual conference, ‘Character and Vocation’. The multidisciplinary conference will take place between the 6th – 8th January 2027 at Oriel and Magdalen Colleges, University of Oxford. we ask interested parties to submit a 500-word abstract here. The Centre welcomes proposals from academics, teachers, professionals, and other practitioners. You can read more about the conference below.
Publications and Resources
What Students Think About Character Education
ECI Researchers Michael Prinzing and Juliette Ratchford recently ran a study that investigated what students think about intentional efforts on the part of faculty or institutions to foster their character growth. Click the link to read more.
What Meaningful Character Education Looks Like Around the World
In this article, The Greater Good team interviewed global educators about how they teach values, virtues, citizenship, and what it means to be good. Interviewees include Ng May Guy (Singapore Centre of Character and Citizenship Education); Verónica Fernández Espinosa (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria); Maneezna Dawood (Stanford SPARQ); Peter Kingori (Center for Character and Leadership); Cheryl Maurana (Medical College of Wisconsin).
Cultivating Virtues Among Kenyan School Leaders (CViL)
CViL, a Global Innovations for Character Development (GICD) funded project, have impacted curriculum reform and professional development of educators throughout Kenya via collaboration with government institutions and researchers in the fields of servant leadership, Character Education, and Human Flourishing. Furthermore, members of the team behind the project have published a case study surrounding the project through International Studies of Management & Orientation.
Building Character Strengths and Virtues in Sri Lanka: A Cluster Randomized Pre-Post Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention
Recently published in BMC Public Health, the LEAPS protocol outlines a culturally tailored 10-week school programme designed to support young people in Sri Lanka, a context shaped by conflict and natural disaster. Delivered through interactive, web-based modules, LEAPS focuses on building character strengths such as empathy and social responsibility, with a robust evaluation exploring its impact on student wellbeing and long-term, scalable youth development.
Educating Character Through Sport: Principles and Practices of a Virtues-Based Framework
The Centre’s Educating Character Through Sport: Principles and Practices of a Virtues-Based Framework sets out the place of character in sport and how character might be developed through sport. The Framework complements The Jubilee Centre Framework for Character Education in Schools, from which much of the advice and guidance in this document is derived.
Other News
Educating for Moral Flourishing: International Conference
Our Character Week concluded with the Educating for Moral Flourishing Conference (12–13 March 2026), hosted at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria by the Virtue and Values Education Centre. Across two days we explored interdisciplinary perspectives—virtue ethics, moral psychology, justice, sociology, and theology—through keynote lectures and parallel sessions, and renewed our shared commitment to educating for character and the common good.
Simon Conway Morris Wins 2026 Templeton Prize
Professor Simon Conway Morris, University of Cambridge, has been awarded the 2026 Templeton Prize for his outstanding contributions to the field of evolutionary biology and his enduring efforts to explore the broader human implications of his scientific discoveries. Professor Conway Morris joins a list of 55 prize recipients including St. Teresa of Kolkata and the Dalai Lama.
National Rollout of Values-Based Education in Kenya
On 2nd April 2026, the Kenyan Government, led by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and the Ministry of Education, launched a national rollout of Values-Based Education. This followed the success of a pilot programme in 2025 which saw Values-Based Education implemented in 70 schools across 19 counties with a focus on nurturing ethical and responsible citizens. In conjunction with the rollout, the KICD have published a range of resource materials for primary and secondary school teachers, along with school leadership. The resources can be found via the below.
New Character Textbook Makes Virtue Accessible for Undergraduates
Looking for a new textbook for your character class? 2025 Educating Character Initiative Teacher-Scholar Grant Recipient Robert J. Hartman’s book, Improving Character: Moral Virtues, Strategies, and Questions, makes character accessible for first-year students and is available for pre-order.
2026 Schools of Character Announcement
Character.org is proud to recognize 103 schools and districts from around the world as 2026 State and National Schools of Character. This year’s honorees represent 94 schools across the United States and a record-breaking nine international schools that have demonstrated a deep commitment to developing strong culture, ethical leadership, and character growth in students.
Studying Peace in a Reconciliation Village in Rwanda
In support of a Templeton Religion Trust funded project, Promoting Reconciliation, Well-being, and Sustained Peace through Character Virtue Development Programs: Lessons Learned from a Reconciliation Village in Rwanda, our team recently visited the Rukara Reconciliation Village to meet village members, survivors and former perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and PeacEdu leadership. We look forward to a three-year study investigating links between reconciliation, character virtue development, and peace.
“Sports Don’t Automatically Build Character — They Shape It, for Better or Worse” A Growing Field Is Taking That Seriously
A diverse group of coaches, athletic directors, trainers, and academics came together to discuss the challenges and opportunities of promoting character development in college sports.
Character Education in Action: Transforming School Culture in Argentina
We are delighted to share an inspiring example of how character education can transform educational realities. Through the support of the Virtue and Values Education Centre (VEC) at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Mano Amiga School in Argentina has been working to integrate virtues across the whole life of the school. This journey has led to the school achieving the Quality Mark awarded by the Association for Character Education (ACE).
