Five experts from institutions in the UK, USA, Chile and Argentina will be the keynote speakers at the congress 'Education of character in Latin America: challenges and opportunities', organized by the University of Navarra in Pilar (Argentina) on June 13-14, 2018.

They are Marisa Meza Pardo, professor at the School of Education of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; James Arthur and Kristján Kristjánsson, director and Deputy Director of the Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues and professors at the University of Birmingham (UK); Marvin W. Berkowitz, McDonnell Professor of Character Education and co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (USA); and Pedro Luis Barcia, former president of the Academia Nacional de Education and the Academia Argentina de Letras.

The event is promoted by 'Researching and promote the Education of character in secondary schools in Latin America', a project of research joint School of Education and Psychology and the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS). It is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

Marisa Meza will speak on ' faculty training to educate students' character'. In her discussion paper she will offer a global look at the current demands of democratic moral Education of future teachers. She will also reflect on some general challenges of faculty training along these lines.

Kristján Kristjánsson will delve into 'Philosophical and psychological perspectives on Education of character'. He will analyze the most recent philosophical/conceptual and psychological issues that characterize the current speech on Education of character.

Marvin W. Berkowitz will focus on the 'Fundamentals of Effective Character Education ', which he believes includes six principles: prioritization, relationships, intrinsic motivation, being model, empowerment and perspective development. For his part, James Arthur will explain the approach of the center he directs and its context.

Pedro Luis Barcia will speak at the closing lecture on 'La Education del carácter en la Argentina. Absence and need for its implementation'. He will synthetically point out the historical stages, from its presence around 1950 to the present, as well as its current absence in the contents and objectives at all levels.

During the congress , the Templeton Character Education Awards will be submission in Latin America. These awards seek to recognize character Education projects that are being carried out in schools, motivating faculty to get involved in them and raising awareness of their value through the knowledge dissemination best practices.