"Free to learn. The adult education in prison," the national seminar Erasmus + in collaboration with Epale held in Naples on 4 and 5 April addressed the issue of education and training in a context of deprivation of personal liberty which the prison.

A number of the topics discussed: the sense of the detention, the respect for constitutional rights, the institutional education and training pathways to those of an informal kind, such as theatre, music, writing workshops.

Many accessions, more than 150 participants from all penitentiary reality of Italy, reflecting a world that rarely has the opportunity to meet and share and not to disperse the huge heritage represented by the individual experiences.

Figures from the Ministry of justice prevail are the concrete fact to start with. In particular, the number of inmates in Italian prisons engaged in courses aimed at obtaining a secondary school diploma of the second degree (ca 7000), enabling the examination of middle school (ca 5000) and elementary (ca 2500). In a note sent to the seminar, the undersecretary Gennaro Migliore indicated in literacy for foreigners, distance learning and the development of information technologies in prison, the future and the main areas of intervention.

The first phase of work, open a message from Mario Palma , National Ombudsman of the rights of those detained or deprived of personal freedom, and continued with speeches by Rossella Giazzi , the Penitentiary Administration Superintendence of Tuscany, Giuseppe Centomani , Manager Centre Juvenile Justice Campania, Tuscany and Umbria, Riccardo Polidoro andGabriele Terranova , prison Observatory national Union Rooms Italian penalty, addressed the question of the application of new criminal execution model and a better appearance of the prison, more dignified for those who work there and who is restricted.

The need for guidelines for the dissemination of a new detention model where the education and training paths fit within a coherent and overall project has been the subject of recent consultation called "States General Criminal Execution", whose recommendations finals have been reported in the intervention of Mauro Palma and entrusted to the discussion of the seminar.

The problem of organizing the physical environment, which is the function of the space designated for the development of knowledge, has been addressed by Giuseppe Centomani who spoke of "the space recognition and the place where it is education, recognition of the method and content" and even " certainty "and" context harmony between system operators, or adjustment between the human and professional resources that ensure the processes.” Recognisability, certainty, harmony and connection between the two dimensions involved: the physical space and the human resources and the training offer. 

Humanization and openness in the experiences of Tuscany reported by Rossella Giazzi , but the critical issues are still numerous and emerge from the words of Riccardo Polidoro , Responsible Prison Observatory: "The situation in the prisons is still serious and in many institutions we find the lack of enforcement of law of '75 (Reform of the penitentiary)". Polidoro complaint organizational deficiencies, structural and regulatory, while acknowledging the improvements made ​​by Italy following the judgment Torreggiani (link is external) and the important experience of the State’s General by the Ministry of Justice. Another aspect treaty that of ' public opinion that must be approached with prison issues. A real business of "re-education" not only for prisoners, but also for the free citizens that can make share basic principles of legal culture.

The interventions of Alan Smith , founder of the European Grundtvig program for adult education, and Annet Bakker , director of EPEA - European Prison Education Association (link is external), ended the first day of work with a European perspective. Alan Smith recalled the European policies in favour of adult education in which you put in prison, education and training programs (Erasmus + and previous programs, Epale, the European Social Fund, the Justice Programme, Horizon 2020 Creative Europe), the needs and challenges common to all countries. He also recalled the Grundtvig program that supported the inmates, teachers and prison staff and several EU initiatives to promote and support European cooperation in this specific area.

Annet Bakker presented EPEA, an organization that directs formed by prison educators, administrators, governors, researchers and other professionals, whose interests are to promote and develop education and related activities in prisons throughout Europe in accordance with the recommendations of the Council 'Europe. Among the objectives of EPEA also to network and support research.

In the article learning in prison: the contribution of the European Commission has provided a summary of the two interventions.

The second day of the conference opened with the presentation of the Erasmus + program and the experience of the project in progress "SKILLS FOR FREEDOM - Artistic paths to develop the professional skills of prisoners" for the enhancement of the professionalism acquired by the prisoners. The project was presented by Francesco Ferrari, founder of Associates Team of Trainers.

Following the presentation of the new electronic platform Epale dedicated to adult learning and presented by Daniela Ermini of Indire-Epale Unit which manages the project for Italy. Week Epale in education dedicated to the theme, at the end of last January the prison, part of the EU in the field of education and training in the penitentiary environment, as pointed out by Alan Smith.

Francesca Torlone the University of Florence, Department of Education, has introduced new non-formal education challenges, followed by the experiences of the protagonists: the theatre, vocational training, health and educational workshops. The pedagogical dimension of the principle of "re-education" of the sentence aims to "re-educate the individual citizen being detained in all its dimensions through reflective practices and transformative." The prison environment itself should be rehabilitation, with attention to socialization, to the relationship between peers, with teachers and agents. All operators that work in fact have to assume educational functions of detainees in prison because: " In prison, there is always educates drawn mental/ adverse effect by anywhere, doing anything / activities, contact with anyone - even unknowingly ," stressed Dr. .ssa Torlone.

This principle has been clarified by subsequent interventions that have told the theatre in prison - from the experiences of  Horacio Czertok , director of the Teatro Nucleo di Ferrara, and Giorgio Flamini director and actor, here as artistic director of #SIneNOmine Company, formed mainly by students enrolled in the Art School in the prison section dell'IIS Sansi Leonardi Volta Spoleto - the teaching laboratory , in the words of Fausta Minale professor of prison woman of Pozzuoli, the vocational training illustrated by Giacomo Sarti and Stefano Cuppini the Bologna OPEN Consortium and the ' health education in the experience of the project carried out in the female section of the prison of Dozza Bologna and illustrated by Patrizia Stefani , MEG - European Gender Medicine.  

In all experiences it emerges the centrality of the individual prisoner and an educational model that humanizes it, promotes awareness, directs and redirects. In summary the “school-value ", recalled by Fausta Minale that, according to a viewpoint shared by all present, recalled how "we cannot allow people to come out worse as entered."

The two days ended with the group work on the topics covered. The results of the individual groups will be reported in Epale, the discussion points will again be rich and varied.

Martina Blasi,

Epale units Italy

Consult the slide and content of the speakers:

/epale/en/file/slideinterventoabakkernapoliitapdfslide_intervento_A.Bakker_napoli_ita.pdf

slide_intervento_A.Bakker_napoli_ita.pdf(link is external)

/epale/en/file/slideinterventoasmithnapoliitapdfslide_intervento_A.Smith_napoli_ita.pdf

slide_intervento_A.Smith_napoli_ita.pdf(link is external)

/epale/en/file/torlone-seminariona-05042016finalpdfTorlone-UNIFI-seminario-Napoli_final.pdf

Torlone-UNIFI-seminar-Napoli_final.pdf(link is external)

/epale/en/file/minalerelazioneepaleseminarionapoli-3pdfF.Minale_relazione_epale_seminario_napoli-3.pdf

F.Minale_relazione_epale_seminario_napoli-3.pdf(link is external)

/epale/en/file/progettoskills4freedomepalenapolipdfprogetto_skills_4_freedom_F.Ferrari.pdf

progetto_skills_4_freedom_F.Ferrari.pdf(link is external)

/epale/en/file/educazionesalutecarceremegepal-napolipdfeducazione_salute_carcere_MEG_P.Stefani.pdf

educazione_salute_carcere_MEG_P.Stefani.pdf(link is external)

/epale/en/file/presentazioneerasmusnapoli5aprilepdfpresentazione_erasmusplus_EDA_P.Michelacci.pdf

presentazione_erasmusplus_EDA_P.Michelacci.pdf(link is external)

Video of the show "Miracle at Maiano" (link is external), Company #SIneNOmine, Giorgio Flamini

Slide intervention Francesca Torlone, Unifi (available soon)

To explore the topic in Epale:

- "Each euro invested in education in the penitentiary environment makes generously" , interview with Alan Smith

- Annet Bakker speaks of the main difficulties of education in prisons , interview the director of EPEA

- Week Epale education in prison (25 to 29 January) , Europe resources

- From art to read the art of being , refection on theater in prison Horacio Czertok

-  The value of the school in prison evoking talents , Interview with Fausta Minale

- Not only mimosa. Pedagogical project , curated by MEG, CC of Dozza, Bologna

Other resources:

- Entertainment Waiting for ... Pulecenella in prison in Spoleto , April 15 - Company #SIneNOmine

- Dignity and prison. Because we'll talk in Naples , article by the seminar presentation