Conference Program

A subtle form of violence is increasingly shaping contemporary communication. While not always expressed as explicit aggression, it influences how individuals think, speak, and relate to others. In the platform society, social, economic, and interpersonal exchanges increasingly occur through online platforms operated by a small number of private corporations, which have become central infrastructures of everyday life (van Dijck, 2024). Since the early 2000s, economic, cultural, and political power has concentrated in the hands of a few companies that structure the main spaces of online sociality and information (Törnberg, 2023), such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft, which play a decisive role in shaping communication and participation in public life (Rikap, 2024).

The growing presence of algorithms in social media raises questions about their influence on attention, perception, and thought. As digital infrastructures shape what we see, read, and discuss, they also influence the language through which we interpret the world (Brady et al., 2023). Public discourse in digital environments is increasingly characterized by aggression, simplification, and polarization, and these communicative patterns are gradually permeating educational contexts. University students often adopt communicative styles influenced by social media, including in interactions with instructors (Persano, 2026). This reflects a broader linguistic transformation in which the boundaries between formal and informal communication are becoming increasingly blurred (Rodgers, 2025), contributing to the normalization of more direct and sometimes confrontational forms of expression in academic settings (Caceres et al., 2025).

Language structures how reality can be represented. As Wittgenstein argues, the limits of my language mean the limits of my world (Wittgenstein, 1921). What cannot be meaningfully expressed in language cannot be clearly thought or communicated. The scope of what we can speak about defines the scope of the world we are able to understand. Words can function as doors that open dialogue, or as walls that close it (Rosenberg, 2003). Unlearning destructive patterns embedded in everyday conversation can improve forms of expression and foster connection and cooperation. For this reason language should be rediscovered as a tool for nonviolence. Versatile communication skills allows individuals to articulate nuance, recognize differences and sustain dialogue, building bridges that resist simplification and hostility.

Within this framework, the purpose of this contribution is to examine the role of nonviolent communication as a subject of instruction and to highlight its relevance within formal and non-formal education. In particular, the paper explores how nonviolent communication can be integrated into educational practices as a pedagogical approach capable of fostering dialogue, empathy, and critical reflection..

The authors - educators in adult and higher education- advocate for a renewed attention to nonviolence within educational environments. Drawing on their teaching experiences, they reflect on the pedagogical potential of nonviolent practices applied in educational contexts. The contribution argues that incorporating nonviolent communication and dialogical practices into educational settings highly support constructive forms of interaction, strengthen democratic values and promote a sense of responsibility necessary for cultivating a sustainable culture of peace.