Prison Insights 2nd Edition: IMGT and APAC gather to debate business solutions to promote social reintegration

The 2nd edition of Prison Insights will be taking place on the 30th of October. The event, the result of a partnership between the APAC Portugal Association and the Instituto Miguel Galvão Teles, brings together national and international speakers, and aims to be a time for networking, to share knowledge and solutions on the theme of employability in prison as the central tool of social reintegration.

Data advanced by the One Value platform reveals that each prisoner costs 15,330.00Eur annually to the Portuguese State, taking into account only direct costs; and according to the DGRSP (December 2017 data) only 11.7% of the inmate population works for external entities, the only ones who, in principle, will have the greatest economic opportunity to make employment possible after freedom - crucial facts in triggering this debate, according to the Association.

APAC, in this 2nd edition of Prison Insights, “Intends to facilitate public discussion and bring all sectors together for a serious and informed debate about prison work; talk about the job solutions that exist for people who have already gone through a period of reclusion; give account of the opportunity that arises for all companies within the Prison System taking into account this scenario; and finally, make known the success and experience of great personalities in the area, which are proof that all of this is possible”- says Teresa Cardoso, APAC President.

The event will be attended by Michelle Cirocco (USA), who heads Televerde's social responsibility department. Michelle recently organized the ground-breaking “TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional” in Perryville, showing the potential that exists when we give these people a second chance - this being the first TEDx ever held in an Arizona prison. Also confirmed, is the presence of Jacob Hill (UK), founder of the Offploy Foundation, a recruitment agency that supports people who have already been convicted of getting a job. As J. Hill notes, "Offploy has a clear mission: to reduce reoffending and make society safer by placing people with criminal convictions into meaningful, mentored and sustainable employment”. The event will also include Rómulo Augusto Mateus, CEO of Reinsertion and Prison Services; Jaume Farré, Director of the La Caixa Foundation's Department of Socio-Labour Integration; Juan José Lopez, Director of the Reintegration Centre of Catalonia; Rui Patrício, known Criminal Lawyer; Rita Nabeiro, General Director of Adega Mayor and administrator of the Nabeiro Group - Delta Cafés; Sara Norte, theatre, film and television actress, among other personalities.

Portugal is thus placed on the world map of innovation and employability of ex-prisoners, with the crucial contribution of different faces and partners. Rui Patrício, representing IMGT, states that “It is with a feeling of great satisfaction that the Instituto Miguel Galvão Teles joins APAC once again in this event. It is projects like this that reflect the work we have also done, and it is the people involved in them that allow us to have the full conviction that not only we can’t stop here, but there is still much more to go... Until there is no doubt that everyone, without exception, has the opportunity, and the duty, to contribute to starting a new cycle!”.

IZA World of Labour concluded in a study of its own, comparing the recidivism rates of those who got a job shortly after leaving prison and those who were not so lucky, that there was indeed “a strong correlation between unemployment and recidivism”. “These data, added to the work that APAC has been developing on the ground through its programs, have made us aware of the importance of addressing this issue in depth, presenting innovative proposals that maximise the resources available” - says Duarte Fonseca, Executive Director of APAC.

In this second edition of Prison Insights, APAC Portugal alerts Portuguese society and the various communities to the emerging need for everyone to be involved in this subject, showing that change is possible, and that achieving stable employment after serving a sentence “It may not be the key to a society's civic success, but it will certainly be the beginning of a true social reintegration,” adds Teresa Cardoso, President of APAC Portugal.

More information here.

In ECO Advocatus