About the Forum
Structure
The Forum is composed of four organs: the General Meeting, the Board, the Committees and the Secretariat.
The General Meeting
According to article 22 of the constitution, the General Meeting consists of the full members of the Forum. Associate members and staff members are entitled to attend and speak.
Meetings are organised every year, preferably linked to a conference.
For the reports of the General Meetings, click here.
The business to be conducted at the general meetings include: determining the general policy of the Forum, the election and dismissal of members of the Board, the approval of annual accounts, the budget, the annual report, internal regulations and membership matters.
The Board
The Board exercises all the competencies not reserved to the General Meeting. It consists of a minimum of seven and a maximum of fifteen members coming from at least six different countries.
The members of the Board are elected from and by the full members, and are appointed for a period of six years.
The executive committee, which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Forum, is composed of the chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer.
Composition of the current and previous Boards.
The Committees
According to articles 25 and 37 of the constitution, both the General Meeting and the Board can appoint committees or other working groups and can co-opt individuals to serve on such organs. The committees work together with the Board and the Secretariat in realising the aim and objectives of the Forum. Currently there are seven committees:
The information committee
The communication committee
The practice and training committee
The research committee
The editorial board
The selection committee
The committee on restorative approaches in schools
The information committee
Aim: Gathering, organising, processing and storing of information for the work of the Forum.
Objectives:
- The active gathering of information
- Provide contents for the newsletter and the web-site (via contact persons per country)
- Prepare an application for funding for a documentation centre (related to the finance committee)
- Collect information on forthcoming events
For more information please contact the Secretariat.
The communication committee
Aim: To provide the mechanisms of dissemination of information to the outside world and within the Forum.
Objectives:
- Create a web-site
- Assisting in recruiting new members
- Organise conferences
- Relations with the media (divided responsibility with the Chair)
- Produce publications (leaflets, books, etc.)
- Organise seminars (jointly with practice and training committee)
Contact person: Christa Pelikan.
The practice and training committee
Aim: To identify, promote and support principles of good practice
Objectives:
- Organise seminars and workshops
- Organise the exchange between practitioners and between trainers (visits)
- Develop and promote good practice standards and ethics (dissemination by the communication committee)
Contact person: Niall Kearney.
The research committee
Aim: To promote and develop research which informs and supports practice and policy developments.
Objectives:
Identify research needs in the light of existing research and information from the colleagues of the practice and training committee- Promote and develop collaborative and comparative studies based on uniform systems of recording and analysis
- Find funding for setting up research projects
- Promote the devising of recording methods for routine monitoring
Contact person: Borbala Fellegi.
The editorial board
The editorial board is responsible for putting together the newsletter of the European Forum.
Contact person: Vira Zemlyanska .
The selection committee
The selection committee's task is to make nominations for the next election of the Board.
The committee on restorative approaches in schools (European Forum Education Group)
The committee on restorative approaches in schools has as its aims to:
1) serve as a networking group for all those people interested in, or involved in, developing restorative approaches in educational environments (eg schools, colleges, educational units for young people at risk, residential homes, etc).
2) make the links between restorative approaches in educational settings and those in criminal and youth justice settings.
3) share good practice, evaluation and research in the implementation and sustainability of restorative approaches in educational environments.
4) raise the profile of the importance of restorative approaches with young people by ensuring that the topic is regularly explored in European Forum newsletters and at conferences, either with speakers or workshops.
5) keep members informed of training opportunities, new resources, conferences and other relevant news that might help in their own work.
6) foster links with other groups working in similar fields in the educational environment (restorative approaches; mediation and conflict resolution; violence reduction; anti-bullying; etc.).
7) encourage member states to organise conferences, symposiums and training programmes in the field of restorative approaches in educational settings in their own countries.
The group is self-managing and every signed up member shares the responsibility for ensuring that the above aims are achieved by actively contributing to shared e-mails and, when possible, contributing information to the European Forum newsletter and website.
Contact person: Belinda Hopkins.
The Secretariat
Contact address:
Secretariat of the European Forum for Restorative Justice
Hooverplein 10
3000 Leuven
Belgium
Jolien Willemsens, Executive Officer
Tel. +32 16 32 54 29
Fax +32 16 32 54 74
E-mail: jolien@euforumrj.org
Clara Casado, Project officer
Tel. +32 16 32 51 05
Fax +32 16 32 54 74
E-mail: clara@euforumrj.org
Leni Sannen, Project assistant
Tel. +32 16 32 51 05
Fax +32 16 32 54 74
E-mail: leni@euforumrj.org
.