Holistic radicalisation prevention approach across communities and correctional settings, on second event targeting staff training.
From the 2nd to the 6th of December, over 60 professionals from prison and probation administrations, research centres and NGOs from Portugal, France, Bulgaria and Greece gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria. This event, hosted by the Center for the Study of Democracy, marked the 2nd Short-term Joint Staff Training Event of the INTEGRA project, focusing on the prevention of radicalisation within probation settings and its indissociable relationship with the prison and community organisations’ contexts.
IPS_Innovative Prison Systems was represented by Mr Pedro Liberado and Ms Catarina Abrunhosa, who conducted a total of five presentations/working group sessions along this week-long event. Other speakers/trainers included Ms Nadya Radkovska (Head of International Cooperation and Staff Training of the General Directorate “Execution of Sentences”), Ms Ivelina Gesheva and Mr Andrei Momchilov (Crime Prevention Fund – IGA), Mr Gary Hill (ICPA – International Corrections and Prisons Association), as well as Ms Rositsa Dzhekova and Mr Mariyan Sabev (Center for the Study of Democracy). In addition, other presentations by renowned experts were made via-videoconference, namely Ms Ariane Wolf (Head of International Affairs and Transnational Cooperation of the Violence Prevention Network) and Mr Sergio Bianchi (Founder and Senior Researcher at Agenfor International). This training event also comprised field visits to Sofia’s Central Prison and to the Kremikovci Prison Dormitory.
Besides IPS_Innovative Prison Systems (Portugal) and the host organisation, the consortium of the INTEGRA project is also composed by the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès (France), KEMEA Centre for Security Studies (Greece) and ICPA International Corrections and Prisons Association (The Netherlands). INTEGRA stands for “Integrated community, probation and prison services radicalisation prevention approach” and it strives to improve the transition process between prison and/or probation systems and the community for those at risk of radicalisation or who have been radicalised. It attempts to achieve this outcome by promoting a holistic radicalisation prevention initiative focusing on skills development of frontline staff, and community organisations’ representatives.
