An international conference ("Educational, socio-correctional activities and psychological aid in the penitentiary system") on raising the availability of educational services in the penitentiary institutions of Belarus was conducted on November 16-18, 2016 in Gomel City.
The conference was attended by 115 specialists and experts from 11 countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, UK, Germany, Ireland, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, the Netherlands, Russian, Uzbekistan and Ukraine). Among the participants, there were representatives of ministries and public bodies, local authorities, penitentiary institutions, educational and social services establishments, NGOs and private training centres.
The main goals of the event were: discussing the trends and prospects of development of prison education; exchanging experience and broadening network cooperation in the sphere of educational and socio-correctional work in the penitentiary system; summing up the results of the project “Education opens doors”.
The programme of the conference included visits to correctional institutions, plenary meetings, group work, key-note speeches and presentations, panel discussions.
On the first day (November 16, 2016), visits for Belarusian and foreign experts to three correctional institutions (implementing educational mini-projects within the project “Education opens doors”) were organized: Correctional institution Nr 24 (mini-project “Social rehabilitation of prison inmates through computer literacy and hairdressing courses”), Open-Type Correctional Institution Nr 17 (mini-project “Experimental training cooking facility “Culinary School”), Correctional Institution Nr 4 (mini-project “Broadening educational opportunities for prison inmates through distance and module education”).
During the visits, a general overview of penitentiary institutions’ activities was made, and training facilities launched within the project were presented. Apart from that, on the premises of Correctional institution Nr 4, a play “The sun shines for everyone” was performed by prison inmates (it is one of the performances within the project “Theatre in prison” implemented on the premises of the institution).
On the second day of the conference (November 17, 2016), plenary reports were presented and work within three theme sections was organized: “Broadening the access to education for prison inmates”; “Scientific and legal provisions of educational and correctional activities in penitentiary institutions: development of penitentiary pedagogics and training system for staff of penitentiary institutions”; “Improving psychological provisions of educational and correctional processes in penitentiary institutions, development of penitentiary psychology”. During the sections, Belarusian and foreign experience of organizing educational and correctional activities on correctional institutions was presented, and theoretical approaches to these activities were discussed. Apart from the exchange of experience, the participants also discussed the prospects of development of prison education and made proposals to the Recommendations on the development of prison education in the Republic of Belarus.
The third day started with a panel discussion “Key factors for the development of prison education” with the participation of representatives of the Department of Penalty Execution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Republic of Belarus), Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, Department for Supervision and Execution Work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Republic of Belarus), European Prison Education Association, and the Ministry of Justice of Brandenburg federated state (Germany).
During the discussion, the participants highlighted the importance to acknowledge the social benefits of prison education, and the necessity to further develop scientific and methodological provisions, conduct advanced training courses for the staff of penitentiary institutions, broaden the use of information and communication technologies, and to strengthen intersectoral and interdepartmental cooperation for the sake of broadening the range of educational services for (ex-)prison inmates.
The participants of the conference also discussed and adopted Gomel recommendations on the development of education in the penitentiary institutions of the Republic of Belarus.
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