From the Southern Region – June 2019

Common Needs in Common Grounds

An interesting, hands-on seminar was realized on 11/05/2019 at the premises of the Therapeutic Community KETHEA ‘Exodus’. Educators, social workers, psychologists, prison guards and administrators employed in prisons in Central Greece, met to formulate common grounds for communication, dialogue and interaction, to pinpoint issues that occur, and to suggest solutions.

During the first part, Ms Maria Anagnostaki, legal expert, criminologist and consultant of the General Secretariat for Crime Policy, broached the subject of the legal frame concerning professional activities in Prison Institutions, highlighting that in order to approach and interpret the aforementioned frame, clarifying its principles and goals is of the utmost importance.

During the second, experiential part, Mr Vassilios Koutras, Health Education Professor at the University of Ioannina, guided the participants, through practical activities, to discuss their roles, their relations with their co-workers, and to mirror their personal stances and beliefs. Finally, a close inspection of study cases, based on real events, resulted in a productive dialogue in search of ‘common grounds’ within the prisons.

This free-of-charge inter-professional seminar, one of the very few that takes place, was organised by KETHEA ‘Exodus’, EPEA Hellas and the Deputy Mayor’s Office in charge of Social Policies of the Municipality of Larissa. More than fifty professionals employed in the Prison Institutions of Larissa, Trikala, and Domokos, in the Volos Prison for Young Offenders, in the Kassavetia Prison Camp for Young Offenders, and in the Volos Correctional Institution for Male Minors, attended the seminar.

The members of the organisation committee have expressed their wish and desire that these seminars be actualised  yearly to meet the ascertained needs.

by Georgios Trantas, member of the Organisation Committee of the seminar

– Principal of the Second Chance School in the Larissa Prison Institution and EPEA Hellas Branch SC member