Activities and events

The UNESCO Chair in Applied Research for Education in Prison carries out a set of activities that aim to advance knowledge and support educational practices in prisons. Through the publication of newsletters, the facilitation of webinars, the organization of training and support activities, as well as the holding of its first international symposium in October 2024, the Chair contributes to an engaged and multidisciplinary community. Through its applied research and the promotion of innovative practices, it disseminates essential knowledge and supports people and institutions working for a more accessible, relevant and transformative education in prison.

Webinars

Since 2019, the UNESCO Chair has been hosting a series of webinars that bring together researchers, practitioners and partners from various countries. These virtual meetings offer a space to share expertise, findings and courses of action on a variety of themes, ranging from motherhood in prisons to the realities of young offenders in Burkina Faso, as well as issues of masculinity and identity in Canadian prisons. Through these international exchanges, the Chair contributes to disseminating enlightening perspectives and fostering an international dialogue on the issues, challenges and educational and pedagogical innovations in prisons.

Visit the Chair's Youtube channel to view the webinars. 

Chair Award

Since 2015, the UNESCO Chair Prize has highlighted educational initiatives that contribute to renewing and enriching education in prisons. Awarded in collaboration with the Centre de services scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord and the Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles as part of the Spring School, this recurring award recognizes the quality of a project, material or pedagogical strategy designed by a teacher working in detention. Presented in person by a member of the Chair, it is accompanied by moments of knowledge sharing and networking, in order to support the dissemination of inspiring practices within the educational community.

Colloquium of the Chair

The Chair has a more than positive assessment of the first Montreal International Conference on Education in Prison, which took place from October 16 to 18, 2024. Bringing together a diverse and passionate crowd, this first international conference showcased in an innovative way the issues of research and development of education programs in prisons. The event took place during National Social Rehabilitation Week, resulting in public, open and inclusive discussions.

Positive impacts

• About 100 participants (including both program managers and incarcerated individuals) from 15 countries, including Mexico, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, France, Spain and Ireland. This diversity of backgrounds highlighted the richness of the different educational contexts around the world, as well as certain common experiences: the desire to open prison contexts to social issues, the commitment of practitioners in their desire to accompany learners throughout their lives, regardless of where they are, and the universal difficulties of carrying out this educational work in such a context.
• Four themes were addressed: the promotion of non-formal education in prison, programs specific to the communities of women and Indigenous people in detention promoting social rehabilitation, artistic practices facilitating the development of the agency of inmates, and socio-professional integration through the learning of diversified skills.
• The richness of the exchanges between the countries of the Global South, the North American perspective and the European and Oceanian contexts made it possible to become aware of the holistic, ecumenical and decompartmentalized perspective of the Chair from Montreal, which allows it to build bridges between cultural and social fields that are often far apart.
• The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) roundtable put forward a concerted model at the municipal and community level of education practices in prison and post-prison contexts, based on the dynamics of the cities of Edmonton, Clermont-Ferrand, Cork, Marrakech and Dakar.
• The development of a shared vision of prison pedagogy in the field of prison education at the dawn of criminology and intervention in prison and post-prison settings, combining both research and innovative practices.
• A set of elements that make it possible to set up an international community of practice, both in the field of research and in education.

Pour un résumé de la Chaire en français, cliquez ici.