Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health
The opening event will feature an international panel, including Alfredo Zamudio, director of the Chilean mission of the Norwegian Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue, and Leticia García Villaluenga, director of the Master's Program in Mediation at the Complutense University of Madrid. Also participating will be Ignacio Sánchez, rector of the Catholic University of Chile, and Elisa Araya, rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE). CNN journalist Paloma Ávila will moderate the discussion.
The event is organized by the University Coexistence and Mental Health Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities, and the host institution will be the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
With the purpose of reflecting on and raising awareness about the relevance of university coexistence for the prevention and promotion of mental health in higher education, as well as socializing fundamental concepts and tools, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), through its Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health, organized this learning opportunity open to students, academics and staff of university communities.
The “First CRUCH Training Days on University Coexistence and Mental Health: Dialogue and Transformation of Conflicts in Community” will take place on January 9, 10 and 11, 2024 and its program includes discussion panels with international and national experts, as well as a total of 13 workshops on various topics: skills for dialogue, introduction to psychological first aid in university contexts, development of skills in the classroom, introduction to tools for crisis intervention, strategies for addressing conflicts, and tools for the implementation of restorative practices in the university environment.
The CRUCH's Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health is headed by the rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Ignacio Sánchez; and the rectors of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés; and the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE), Elisa Araya. It is also chaired by two academics: Rosa María Olave, from Alberto Hurtado University (UAH), and Bertha Escobar, from the Catholic University of Temuco (UCT).
The conference, which will be held in different formats (hybrid, face-to-face and online), arose in response to the needs identified by the CRUCH commission during 2023.
“We want to have a space for debate and reflection, to analyze in depth topics such as dialogue within universities, how to promote and practice it, to see how to conceive of conflicts as an opportunity for change and transformation in our coexistence, so that we can all live together in a better way and with greater levels of well-being,” commented Rosa María Olave, who is also the director of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program at Alberto Hurtado University (UAH).
For her part, Bertha Escobar, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Catholic University of Temuco (UCT), emphasized that “the distinctive feature of these sessions is the integration of practical face-to-face and online workshops, in which very concrete tools will be provided, which cross-cut coexistence and mental health, generating in that sense a deep reflection regarding the co-responsibility that should be the basis for any guidance in the field of mental health and university coexistence.”.
According to Olave, it is very important “to have more tools for addressing emotional crises among students, as well as for addressing and resolving conflicts in the various spaces that exist within universities.” At the same time, there is the challenge of «how to develop greater socio-emotional skills within the classroom, so that it becomes a space where students not only acquire knowledge, but also tools that allow them to perform better in their academic work.”.
Program
On the morning of Tuesday, January 9, there will be two panel discussions, which will be streamed on the YouTube channel of the Pontifical Catholic University (UC), the event's host institution. That afternoon, there will be three workshop options, all in person. The remaining ten workshops will be held online on Wednesday the 10th and Thursday the 11th in the afternoon.
The opening panel, which will address the importance of dialogue for conflict transformation and some international experiences, will feature Alfredo Zamudio, director of the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue mission in Chile; Leticia García Villaluenga, director of the Master's Program in Mediation at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain; Ignacio Sánchez, rector of the Catholic University of Chile; and Elisa Araya, rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE). The discussion will be moderated by journalist Paloma Ávila, deputy director of Content Development at CNN Chile and host of the program "Sanamente.".
Next, the situation in Chile regarding coexistence and mental health, and in particular within the university system, will be analyzed. This panel will include María Luisa Méndez, director of the Center for the Study of Conflict and Social Cohesion (COES), and Roberto Aceituno, professor at the University of Chile.
Regarding the introductory workshops, it should be noted that they will be facilitated by academics and experts in the different areas, that they will take place in the afternoons, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and that each one will have a maximum capacity of 30 people.
The first day will include three in-person workshops at the UC Main Building, while the others will be held online over the following two days.
The closing of the first sessions will also be online, on Thursday, January 11 at 5:00 p.m., and will feature the participation of both presidents of the CRUCH University Coexistence and Mental Health Commission, Rosa María Olave and Bertha Escobar, as well as reflections from international guest Katia Ornelas, who has extensive experience in the design and facilitation of peacebuilding and restorative justice processes in university contexts, both in Mexico and in Europe.
“We hope that these sessions will provide new impetus for work on these issues in universities, and that they will help us gain more clarity on how to continue moving forward. We also hope to generate input to provide guidelines and guidance from CRUCH regarding the approach to coexistence and mental health (…) the invitation is for everyone who lives and works within universities, from Arica to Punta Arenas, because since we will have a hybrid in-person and online event, it is a great opportunity to come together,” said Rosa María Olave.
Check the program details in the following link and Register HERE to participate.
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