vLACE

Johannesburg, South Africa

April 01-31, 2026

vLACE | Sudáfrica 2026

vLACE is an executive program that supports educational leaders in building communities where everyone can grow as a person.

Event Information

Event Type: vLACE

Duration: Ten full-day (8 hours) in-person workshops distributed in 9 months.

Place: Each workshop will take place at the campus of one of the participating schools in the city of Johannesburg.

Price: R20,000.00 (scholarships available)

Host:

Alvira Foundation & Become

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vLACE is an executive program that supports educational leaders in building communities where everyone can grow as a person.

Over the course of an academic year, the program offers a structured journey through nine internationally recognized approaches to character education, presented in an applied format and adapted to the reality of each institution. Each workshop combines theoretical foundations, institutional culture analysis, dialogue among leaders, and the design of concrete actions.

The workshops — eight hours each, plus an introductory session — take place monthly and are facilitated by the Become team. Through videos, guided activities, readings, and reflective exercises, participants engage with the work of leading international scholars in character education and translate these insights into strategic decisions for their own communities.

More than a series of training sessions, vLACE is a guided process that culminates in a realistic and sustainable plan for the cultural development of the institution.

01

Leading from Identity and Integrity

To promote the self-knowledge and cultivation of the identity and integrity of the leaders and their communities. There can be no significant change in the culture of a community without its leader beginning by cultivating the character he or she wants to see in the rest of the community.

02

Redesign communities

Provide leaders with the learning and development necessary to design, implement and assess initiatives that make their centers true learning communities, where character development is a real priority. vLACE includes the development of a personalized long-term plan to transform the culture of their communities.

03

Making Evidence-Informed Decisions

Provide conceptual frameworks and practical tools grounded in international research so that leaders can assess their institutional culture, identify areas for improvement, and make well-founded decisions—avoiding isolated initiatives or short-lived trends.

Audience

Certification

Talleres de vLACE

vLACE offers a structured journey through nine internationally recognized approaches to fostering character development in educational communities. It is not merely about learning different models, but about rethinking the institution’s culture in light of research-based principles.

Each month, leadership teams complete a practical assignment that combines personal reflection, dialogue with fellow leaders, surveys of different members of the community, and the design of concrete actions. These assignments — requiring an average of four hours of work — help translate theory into real institutional decisions.

Throughout the program, each institution develops its own strategic plan for cultural development, including proposals for sustainability and evaluation. The eight assignments are not isolated tasks, but part of a coherent process that enables leaders to intentionally redesign everyday practices with a clear medium- and long-term vision.

A Civic School

Phil Vincent, Director of the Character Development Group

A comprehensive approach to Character Education

Marvin Berkowitz, Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship

Educating for Character

Thomas Lickona, Director of the Center for the 4th and 5th R’s

Intentional School Culture

Charles Elbot, Director Office of Intentional School Culture at Denver Public Schools

Eight Habits of the Heart

Clifton Taulbert, American author, business consultant & speaker

Twenty things good teachers do

Hal Urban, Teacher, author and speaker devoted to the Character Education movement  

An Ethic of Excellence

Ron Berger, Chief Academic Officer for Expeditionary Learning

Liderazgo y mejoría de la escuela

Maurice Elias, Director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab

Education at its best

Aviz Glaze, Founder & CEO of Edu-Quest International Inc.

For more information:

Redesigning schools for effective character education through leadership:
The case of PRIMED Institute and vLACE

Dabdoub, J. P., Salgado, D., Bernal, A., Berkowitz, M. W., & Salaverría, A. R. (2023). Redesigning schools for effective character education through leadership: The case of PRIMED Institute and vLACE. Journal of Moral Education, 53(3), 558–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2023.2254510

Character Education Formation Program as an Epiphany and Transformational Experience for Educational Principals

Salgado, D., Bernal, A., Dabdoub, J. P., Berkowitz, M. W., & Bier, M. C. (2025). Character Education Formation Program as an Epiphany and Transformational Experience for Educational Principals in México. Research in Human Development, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2025.2524298

Creating cultures for character development: A Theory of change supported by vLACE, a scalable blended program

Dabdoub, J. P., Salaverría, A. R., Álvarez-Kafati, M. C., & Berkowitz, M. W. (Under review). Creating cultures for character development: A Theory of change supported by vLACE, a scalable blended program. Journal of Moral Education