Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health
Within the framework of this international celebration, the CRUCH Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health shares the main advances and challenges to promote inclusive, healthy and sustainable university environments.
“Happiness can be understood more broadly. Since the commission's work began, the concept of well-being has been used more frequently,” notes Valeska Grau, president of the commission. Meanwhile, Rosa María Olave, a member of the board, emphasizes the connection to “emotional, social, academic, and meaning-based dimensions” in the university experience.
This March 20th marks the International Day of Happiness, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 to recognize the importance of well-being as a universal human aspiration and its integration into public policy. In this context, the CRUCH's Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health shares its perspective on well-being, along with the main advances and challenges in strengthening university communities.
Valeska Grau, co-president of the commission and student mediator at the Ombuds Office of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC), explains that happiness is often associated with pleasant emotions and positive experiences, but points out that “it can be understood more broadly.” Along these lines, she specifies that the commission's work has more frequently used the concept of well-being, understood as “a state experienced by individuals and societies, in which positive emotions, life satisfaction, a sense of purpose, and physical and mental health are experienced. This relates to a more psychosocial concept, connected to social, economic, and environmental conditions.”.
Rosa María Olave, a member of the commission's board and Director of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program at Alberto Hurtado University (UAH), shares this perspective, emphasizing that "we understand happiness as being more closely linked to holistic well-being, which includes emotional, social, academic, and meaningful dimensions." In the university setting, she adds, "this implies the possibility of developing educational pathways in environments that promote respect, inclusion, participation, and the nurturing of relationships.".
Similarly, Grau maintains that “a central focus has been university life, understanding that universities are communities.” He adds that the purpose is to create conditions for these spaces to promote dialogue, the development of relationships, and mutual support, so that they contribute to the well-being, rather than the deterioration, of the student experience.
Main lines of work
Since its creation in 2022, the commission has promoted a holistic view of well-being that integrates coexistence and mental health. “Along these lines, we have fostered spaces for dialogue and reflection among universities to share knowledge; promoted the development of collaborative conflict resolution mechanisms as a way to address the inherent tensions of university life; and made progress in aligning with relevant agendas, such as gender and diversity. All of this is aimed at strengthening more caring, inclusive, and sustainable university environments,” emphasizes Rosa María Olave.
Valeska Grau highlights the holding of meetings and webinars with international experts, aimed at addressing the challenges of mental health and coexistence in university contexts.
A significant milestone was the publication, in April 2025, of the Report “University Wellbeing: Keys to Coexistence and Mental Health”, which brings together scientific evidence, theoretical models and recommendations to guide institutional policies in this area.
Based on this work, the commission has defined its lines of action for 2026 in coordination with other CRUCH bodies. “We have worked especially closely with the Gender Equality and Academic Vice-Rectors' Commissions to address issues such as neurodiversity and gender diversity, understanding that inclusion is key to university well-being,” explains Grau.
In the area of coexistence, it also highlights "advances towards alternative methods of dispute resolution, such as restorative justice.".
Main challenges
One of the challenges is to broaden the focus of our work to encompass the entire university community. “If we think of it as a community, it’s important to address the well-being of academics, professionals, and all the people who are part of our institutions, and how to articulate the different purposes,” Grau explains.
For her part, Rosa María Olave emphasizes the importance of ensuring that these actions are sustainable. “On the one hand, the challenge is to deepen and sustain the practices that are already being developed, especially in educational settings, in a context that is now more complex and demanding; and on the other hand, to consolidate strategies for anticipation, coordination, and communication that allow this work to be sustained over time,” she points out.
Grau adds that it is also necessary to consider the new realities of students. “Today there are more diverse trajectories; for example, there are more students who are mothers and fathers, who enter university at a different age, who work and study, which requires institutional decisions in favor of the well-being and mental health of these student groups.”.
Both agree that these challenges require consolidating an institutional culture that integrates well-being as a structural axis of university work.
To mark this commemoration, the UN will announce the World Happiness Report 2026, This year's Happiness Day will focus on well-being in the digital age, addressing, among other aspects, the impact of social media and the measurement of life satisfaction globally. See more information here: https://www.un.org/es/observances/happiness-day
Text: CRUCH Communications.
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