Dissemination

Τhe results of the ACTinPRISON project were presented at the conference, which took place on October 14th and 15th, 2024 at the University of Thessaly in Volos, while prospects and possibilities for further actions in the field of education of young prisoners were explored.

The conference began with greetings from the Regional agents, from the Vice-Rector of the University of Thessaly, Mr. Panagiotis Plageras, the Metropolitan Bishop of Demetrias and Almyros, Mr. Ignatios, and the President of the Regional Council of Thessaly, Ms. Chrysa Tsaganou. Then, the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, Mr. Andreas Nikolakopoulos, in a brief presentation, referred to the Ministry’s initiatives regarding education in prisons and the need for a programmatic agreement with the University of Thessaly, in order to establish a permanent cooperation between the two institutions, which is beneficial for both institutions and especially for the young prisoners.

On the first day of the conference, the emphasis was on presenting the perspectives of different bodies on both the issue of education in prison and the need to open prisons to society. Afterwards, the Principal Investigator of the project, Ms. Charoula Stathopoulou, Emeritus Professor of the University of Thessaly, presented the goals, actions, etc. of the program, Ms. Xeni Dimitriou, Honorary Prosecutor, presented the perspective of the Prosecutor’s Office, as well as, her personal and long experience. Her speech highlighted the value and benefits of opening detention facilities to society, for young prisoners. Then Ms. Roula Kitsiou, Assistant Professor of the University of Thessaly, presented the ACTinPRISON perspective on prison education with an emphasis on the methodology of the project, namely critical communication methodology, highlighting the crucial role of common spaces of equal participation and interaction for both young prisoners and future educators. The perspective of the Young Offenders Institution of Kassaveteia was presented by the director of the prison’s educational units, Ms. Vaso Zisopoulou, and the social worker, Mr. Leonidas Kotoulas. Through their different roles, they described the experience of implementing ACTinPRISON, emphasizing the importance of the program for young prisoners, both at the level of education itself and at the level of behavior of young prisoners. The first day ended with the Roundtable which was coordinated by the journalist and Director of Education and Training Programs of Larissa Penitentiary, Mr. Giorgos Trantas. It was attended by professionals from various related fields, such as the Deputy Prosecutor of the Court of First Instance of Volos, Mr. Vaios Papaioannou, the Director of the EASKN of Kassaveteia, Mr. Stefanos Raftopoulos, the Director of the ESKN of Volos, Mr. Vasilis Apostolakis, the Director of the Volos Male Juvenile Offenders Institution, Mr. Alexandros Stamos, the social worker of the EASKN of Kassaveteia, Mr. Leonidas Kotoulas, the Director of Education and Training Structures at the ESKN of Volos, Mr. Ioannis Fovos.

The second day included actions which were implemented within the framework of the project and theoretical contributions from the members of the research team. The Professor of the University of Thessaly, Mr. Christos Govaris, highlighted the value of intercultural communication and education in the context of prison, while the Professor of Arcadia University, Mr. Peter Appelbaum, presented principles of curriculum design based on modern theories, such as those suggested by Pinar’ s on the experiential curriculum.

The interdisciplinary approach adopted by the research team is reflected in the presentations of the second day of the conference regarding applications of linguistic and mathematical literacy (R. Kitsiou, V. Chrysikou& Ch. Stathopoulou), combinations of theater and linguistic literacy (S. Kalbeni& M. Karazanou) as well as applications of art, mathematical and technological literacy (V. Katsigiannakis& I. Fovos).

Furthermore, the contribution of the university students/future educators, Ms. Kerry Sinaiti, Ms. Anna Katavolada and Ms. Ioanna Drosaki, who presented their experience of co-developing with young prisoners a bottom-up curriculum that follows the desires and expectations of young prisoners, was significant. The conference closed with a Roundtable coordinated by the Assistant Professor, Ms. R. Kitsiou, in which the university students Ms. Kerry Sinaiti, Ms. Kalliopi-Styliani Makedi and Ms. Sofia Nikou reflected on their overall experience with an emphasis on how participation in research, training and educational interventions within the prison influenced their role as future educators.

We believe that the conference achieved its goals by providing team members with, on the one hand, the opportunity to share their experience and results from the implementation of the project and, on the other hand, a space for discussion and stakeholder engagement in proposals for prison education with the ultimate goal of the social reintegration of young prisoners after their release.