KiVa Antibullying Program Expands Its Operations in Spanish Schools

​Finland University and education company Macmillan Education have signed a five-year licensing agreement for spreading the KiVa Antibullying Program to Spain in Spanish. Macmillan Education, Finland University and the University of Turku organised a briefing on the launch of the KiVa Antibullying Program to Spain in the Embassy of Finland in Madrid on Tuesday, 21 March.

– We are very pleased with this agreement. We have been surveying the possibilities to introduce the KiVa Antibullying Program in Spanish in Spain already for a couple of years, therefore, this recently signed agreement is a result of long-lasting work, says International Project Manager Johanna Alanen from the KiVa Program.

Previously, the KiVa Program has been spread in English to the international schools in Spain and in Basque in the Ikastola Network. Now, the KiVa Antibullying Program will be available in Spanish for the first time.

– In recent years, bullying at schools has been recognised as a serious problem in Spain and the country wants address it. The KiVa Antibullying Program receives inquiries from Spain on a weekly basis, which is why it is great that KiVa is finally introduced to the market also in Spanish, says Key Account Manager Ari Koski from the University of Turku.

Macmillan Education Managing Director of Spain Marta Martínez highlights the significance of introducing the Program in Spanish speaking schools.

– We can expect the Program to promote general well-being at our schools and to give new, innovative tools for teaching, says Martínez.

Instructors at the Macmillan Education have already received a training provided by the KiVa Antibullying Program in early March, in order to be able to teach personnel at Spanish schools to work against bullying. Next, recruitment of schools and personnel training starts in Spain.

– The KiVa Program is one of the most significant products of Finland University and this agreement is a great leap ahead for us in Spain where the interest towards KiVa has been the highest in the world already for several years. Together with Macmillan, we can hopefully promote the valuable work against bullying, says Finland University Executive Vice President Pasi Kaskinen.

The KiVa Antibullying Program is an intervention programme to prevent and tackle bullying at schools. The Program has been developed by the University of Turku and is marketed internationally through Finland University.

Macmillan Education is one of the leading companies of the education sector in Spain. Macmillan Education owns Springer Nature. In its business, Macmillan is focused especially on languages and language learning, pedagogical training and consulting on different learning environments.

JV/SY
Photo: Ari Koski