The KiVa antibullying program has been launched in Colombia. All together representatives of over 140 schools took part in the launching event.
At the end of February 2025, KiVa program had the honor to participate to the KiVa launching event in Bogotá, Colombia organized by the Colombian partner Ciprés mercadeo y consultoría. The event was organized by the new partner with the support and participation of the Finnish Ambassador to Colombia, Dr. Antti Kaski, who gave welcome speech at the event.
From the University of Turku, Professor Christina Salmivalli presented bullying phenomenon and consequences of bullying. Program Coordinators Céline Kylänpää and Katri Sohlman presented the KiVa program and good case examples from other countries where KiVa is available at the event in Colombia.
“We are very confident with the new collaboration with Ciprés mercadeo y consultoría educative in Colombia. The partner has extensive experience working with schools around the country and two certified KiVa trainers have been trained by our team last January. It is important that the schools get support from a local and trained partner who knows the program very well and can guide and support the schools”, says Program Coordinator Céline Kylänpää.
“When bringing KiVa to a new country, we spend a lot of time with the new licensed partner to adapt the materials to the local context and culture. It is very important to make the materials suitable for local schools to ensure good quality of implementation”, continues Program Coordinator Katri Sohlman.
In Colombia, KiVa is available to schools in Spanish language and to both primary and secondary schools.
“We are happy about the arrival of KiVa, which represents an opportunity to improve school coexistence in Colombia. This program brings an effective and proven solution to combat bullying in our country, aligning our institutions with effective and proven international standards. With 90 schools present at the event, the arrival of KiVa in Colombia reinforces our commitment to an inclusive and bullying-free education” said Nicolás Bermúdez, General Manager of Ciprés.
