VERSO programme

Mediation skills for children and young people and staff in early childhood education, primary education and learning communities.

About the VERSO programme

VERSO programme has been training early childhood care, education and teaching professionals as well as children, pupils and students in restorative encounter methods for more than 20 years. Restorative approach
mediation offers an alternative way to resolve conflicts between all members of a community. The aim is to reduce conflicts between community members by promoting the interaction skills of the whole community. Mediation intervenes as early and effectively as possible to address the problem of grievance. 

Read more about the origins and outcomes of restorative approaches and mediation Research-from our page. Also listen to the VERSO podcast Waves of mediation!

We provide training in mediation in early childhood education and care, primary and secondary schools, comprehensive schools, upper secondary schools and upper secondary vocational schools. We also tailor our mediation trainings in cooperation with different actors. We have also trained, for example, carers, instructors of leisure clubs and dormitory staff in educational establishments to use mediation in their work. 

The Social and Health Organisations Support Centre STEA supports
mediation activities in learning communities.

Vision, mission, strategy

Our vision

  • Mediation is no longer a method but a way of working in the whole field of education.
  • In the educational field, mediation is used as the primary conflict management method.
  • The VERSO programme's expertise on issues related to the inclusion of children and young people is widely recognised.

Our mission

  • By educating children and young people, we give them the opportunity to learn about conflict from an early age.
  • By training adults, we support children and young people to learn conflict management.
  • We work to support the rights of children and young people in dealing with conflict situations.

Our strategy

  • The VERSO programme aims to promote mediation awareness and mediation skills as a life-long civic skill across the country.
  • By training children and adults from different educational communities, we increase mediation awareness and skills. Training increases understanding of inclusion in conflict situations and supports children and young people's ownership and capacity to deal with conflict.
  • The VERSO programme provides up-to-date statistics and collects feedback on its activities, and evolves in the direction they guide, taking into account societal developments in its activities.