ECVA Character Conference 2027 in Stockholm, Sweden
"What makes a school or university a “community of character”?"
Established in 2022, the European Character and Virtue Association offers a forum for promoting research, training and networking in the field of character education. We bring together educational institutions in Europe and scholars from around the world, providing unrivalled opportunities for members to share best practices and shape European policies affecting higher education and research.
The 2027 conference of ECVA will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, in cooperation with AcadeMedia, the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham, and the Virtue and Values Education Center of Francisco de Vitoria University.
The Executive Board of the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA) cordially invites you to attend the 2027 ECVA Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
- President: Prof. Dr. James Arthur (Harvard University)
- Vice President: Prof. Dr. Verónica (Francisco de Vitoria University Madrid)
- Secretary: Prof. Dr. Tom Harrison (Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham)
- Treasurer: Prof. Dr. Roland Bernhard (University of Teacher Education of Christian Churches Austria)
Conference Information
Stockholm, Sweden, June 30-July 2nd, 2027
We expect more than:
100+ researchers
40+ universities
20+ countries
60+ presentations & keynote addresses
Conference description
What makes a school or university a “community of character”?
In recent years, character education has gained increasing attention across schools, universities, and wider educational systems. Yet one of the central questions remains: how can educational institutions move beyond isolated programmes, individual initiatives, or occasional interventions, and become genuine communities in which character is intentionally cultivated, embodied, and sustained?
This conference seeks to explore what it means for a school or university to be acommunity of character: a place where virtues are not only taught explicitly, but also caught through relationships, culture, leadership, practices, traditions, and institutional ethos; and sought by students, teachers, leaders, families, and wider communities through reflection, commitment, and shared purpose.
We welcome theoretical, empirical, philosophical, theological, historical, and practice-based contributions that examine how character is formed within educational communities, and how schools and universities can become environments that foster human flourishing.
Conference Goals
By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives and diverse methodologies, the ECVA 2027 conference aims to deepen our understanding of the knowledge–action gap and to promote innovative, research-informed strategies for strengthening moral coherence and character development in real-world settings.
We look forward to welcoming those committed to advancing theory-informed practice and practice-informed theory in the service of ethical integrity and flourishing lives.
Call for Abstracts
The European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA) invites submissions for its upcoming conference, taking place in Stockholm in 2027. This event, titled “What makes a school or university a “community of character”?,” will bring together leading researchers, educators, psychologists, philosophers, and practitioners from around the world to explore how character education and life skills development contribute to personal and professional flourishing.
The ECVA 2027 Conference seeks to address key questions at the intersection of character development, resilience, life skills, and competency-building.
Proposals may address, but are not limited to, the following questions:
- What does it mean to call a school or university a “community of character”?
- How are virtues cultivated through institutional ethos, relationships, rituals, curriculum, pedagogy, and leadership?
- What role do teachers, university professors, school leaders, families, peers, and students themselves play in forming communities of character?
- How can schools and universities avoid reducing character education to individual moral development alone, and instead understand it as a communal, cultural, and institutional task?
- How can communities of character be sustained in pluralistic, digital, secular, religious, or culturally diverse contexts?
- How can we evaluate whether an educational institution is truly fostering character and flourishing?
Submissions are invited for paper presentations. All submissions will undergo a review process to ensure quality and relevance. We welcome contributions from researchers, educators, and practitioners who are interested in advancing the study and application of character and virtue education.
The paper proposal is to be submitted in English and must include the following:
- Abstract (500 words), with 4-5 keywords.
- Short abstract (100 words).
- Title of the paper.
- Author(s), affiliation, and e-mail address of the corresponding author.
Deadline for Abstract Submission: 31st of January, 2027.
Notification of Acceptance: 15th of March 2027.
To secure your place, please complete your registration and transfer the conference fee at your earliest convenience, and no later than April 15. Please use the registration form.
We look forward to welcoming you to Stockholm and to an enriching exchange of ideas.