The Education of the character prepares for coexistence in a global world, emphasizes an expert in Education international
Abdeljalil Akkari, professor at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), participated in a workshop of the University on Education of character.

The Education of character prepares for coexistence in a global world, "where borders are more flexible and we have to organize living together". This was stated at the University of Navarra by Abdeljalil Akkari, professor at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) -where he directs a group of research on Education international- and consultant regular of UNESCO and other organizations.
The expert participated in a workshop of the project 'Investigating and promote Education of character in Latin American secondary schools', which is jointly developed by the School of Education and Psychology and the Institute for Culture and Societyand funded by the World Templeton Charity Foundation.
Professor Akkari emphasized that in contemporary society it is a challenge "to coexist with our different interests, ways of life and values", so in order to educate character it is important "tomultiply the possibilities of having experiences with people different from one's own social, cultural and political reality".
In that sense, he advocated for the existence of mixed schools to which different groups and communities can attend : "If we get to know the other on a daily basis we can change our view of him. This is difficult when we only see the other on television or from afar. We have to overcome structural limitations because society is unequal".
Linguistic diversity and metacognitive ability."The school must consider diversity as a challenge and an opportunity to learn differently. To do so, it must change the way it works, the way it organizes itself, the way it manages languages...", he added.
As an example, he alluded to the case of linguistic diversity: "When a student speaks a different language than the one used at class this is often considered a threat to their school success. But research shows that it is an added value for the child because it makes him develop metacognitive skills. He learns third languages more easily because he can make connections".
On the other hand, Professor Akkari referred to the usefulness of transferring and sharing successful experiences in the Education of character. To this end, he recommended paying attention to three aspects: adapting the perspective of the Education of character to the historical, social, political and educational reality of the context; having the body professor before implementing the innovations; and bringing to the internship the knowledge through user-friendly materials (publications, activities...).
Professor Abdeljalil Akkari was one of the experts from centers of excellence in character Education from the USA, UK, Spain and Switzerland who participated in the workshop of the School of Education and Psychology and the Institute for Culture and Society of the University of Navarra.