Report from the European Prison Education Association

Journal of Correctional Education, Jun 2005 by Behan, Cormac

The main activity of the European Prison Education Association during this quarter has been the biennial conference, Challenges for European Prison Education: Let's make the changes together. It was held in Sofia, Bulgaria in May. The conference was open to prison educators worldwide and this year there were over one hundred participants from twenty nine countries including a number from the USA.

The Correctional Education Association was well represented at the conference. CEA president Carolyn Eggleston and Thorn Gehring gave a workshop on Continuing Professional Development for Prison Educators; Executive Director Stephen Steurer and William Sondervan gave a workshop on Corrections Academy: CEA Training Online and Web-based; and International Representative Cormac Behan gave a workshop on 'Vigilance, Imagination, Courage': The Role of the Teacher in Prison Education.

At the conference, it was announced that Dr. Anne Costelloe from Dublin, Ireland was elected as Deputy Chairperson of the European Prison Education Association. She begins on 1 July 2005 before taking up office for three years as chairperson of the EPEA from 1 July 2006.

In May, former CEA Executive Board member, Professor Stephen Duguid of Simon Fraser University, BC delivered the Liam Minihan Memorial Lecture on Canada's Cognitive Corrections - Diagnosis, Dosage, Treatment in Dublin, Ireland. The evening included a lively discussion about the role of education and the cognitive skills courses in North American and international prisons.

A recent conference of European Directors of Prison Education agreed to contribute to the revision of the Council of Europe's European Prison Rules (EPR). The EPR seeks to minimise the detrimental effects of imprisonment, improve prison conditions, promote good prison management and facilitate prisoner reintegration into society. The contribution from the Directors included the following:

* "A comprehensive education program shall be provided in every institution for all prisoners to meet their individual needs and aspirations.

* Priority shall be given to those with literacy and numeracy needs, the needs of young people, those of foreign origin, and those with particular cultural and ethnic needs.

* Education should have no less a status than work within the prison regime and prisoners should not lose out financially or otherwise by taking part in education.

* Educational provision, including libraries, should strive to make available the same level of ICT resources as on the outside."

An initial draft of the revisions to the EPR was presented to the forty six European Ministers for Justice at their conference in April. We await the outcome of these deliberations which could have an impact on the provision of education in prisons throughput Europe.

Further information about the activities of the EPEA can be had from their website at www.epea.org.

Cormac Behan

CEA International Representative (Non-Canadian)

May 2005