This is the most recent project of Vertus, created in reaction to the increasing incidents of school violence. Schools should be spaces for learning cultural content and, especially, for life in society, but in certain cases, they become spaces of violence among all those who make up the school community. 

The idea is that teaching children and adolescents to coexist peacefully and resolve their disputes nonviolently is a step toward a more humanized and respectful society, in which people can coexist without fear of each other.  

Aligned with the Culture of Peace movements of UNESCO and the orientations of the Common National Curricular Base (BNCC) in Brazil Vertus has developed a project aimed especially to train agents of the school community (administrators, counselors, teachers, students and employees) to promote schools as settings for harmonious coexistence. Also based on the premises of Restorative Justice, Mediation of Conflicts and Nonviolent Communication, the Vertus School Harmony project seeks a change the current culture of punishment to one of dialog, cooperation, and respect for citizens’ rights.   

Through adequate treatment of combative situations in schools, the goal is to generate empathy and solidarity among all those involved, so that the school community can, as a whole and as needed by each person, transform the lives of the people who integrate this community, inside and outside the school setting. 

We believe that by instilling in the new generation the ideas of peaceful coexistence and ways to overcome difficulties will help break the cycle of violence that has existed for many years, ushering in a more civilized society.