Group photo with the Chairs of Working Groups and Committees in Pamplona 2023

EFRJ Committees & Working Groups: Call for participants 2024

We launched two calls for members in Autumn 2024:

Phase I (now closed) was the call for topics to propose topics for the Working Groups;
Phase II (deadline 13 January at 9:00 CET - extended deadline) is the call for participants to join our Committees and Working Groups.

The European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) relies on the active participation of more than 100 members who volunteer in one of our 4 Committees and 6 Working Groups.

By the end of 2024, the mandates of the current groups will end. During the Summer, members were asked to propose the topics of the new Working Groups (phase I of the call for members) while the Board decided on the areas of work of our future Committees. You can find more information on the history of our Committees and Working Groups, about their composition, commonalities and differences, and on the phase I of the call for members here.

Now, we launch a call for participants, meaning that EFRJ members (individuals or representatives of organisations members of the EFRJ) can express their interest in taking part in one (or maximum two) of our future Committees and Working Groups for the period 2025-2026.

At the EFRJ we are committed to encouraging greater diversity of participation and representation and would like to see our Committees and Working Groups involve diverse perspectives. We invite our members to approach people directly (also beyond the EFRJ membership) who might not think of applying despite their expertise of the subject under investigation.

Two calls for members in 2024

The mandate of the members participating in our current Committees and Working Group is coming to an end soon (31 December 2024). For this reason the EFRJ has launched new calls for members, divided in two phases:

  1. The call for topics’ proposals (deadline: 12 October 2024) - More details here.
     
  2. The call for participants (deadline: 13 January 2025) is for EFRJ members (with active membership) who wish to express their interest in joining one of the Working Groups or Committees. Participation in these groups is granted to individuals and not to organisations (even when an individual represents an organisational member of the EFRJ, thus the same person is expected to take part in the chosen group for the 2-year mandate. Groups will have between 5-12 members each. Members will commit to monthly meetings (or every second month - to be agreed by the group) plus approximately 2-3 hours of work every month on average. 
Speeddating exercise with the Chairs of Working Groups and Committees in Pamplona 2023

Renew or join the EFRJ membership

Note that the call for members are reserved for those with active membership, meaning that their membership fee has been paid for 2024 and will be paid for 2025. New members can join the EFRJ membership (before submitting the application) and benefit from all the advantages of being an EFRJ member, including applying for this call. In all cases, save the date for our next Annual General Meeting: see you Athens on 15 May 2025 (the seminar on restorative justice with children on the move will follow).

Important note: the EFRJ welcomes people with a full range of perspectives, such as age, race, gender, sexual orientation, class country of residence and lived experience of restorative justice. We encourage our members to approach people (even beyond our membership), who might not be informed about this call or may not think of applying, and invite them to join our membership and our Committees or Working Groups. They can always contact the EFRJ Secretariat if they have any questions!

Call for participants (for Committees and Working Groups)

This call opened in early December, once the Working Groups’ topics and new Committees were announced. It includes the possibility to choose to participate either in one of the Working Groups or in one of the Committees. 

Individuals may join up to 2 groups, to ensure that they can commit, with time and resources, to the group they belong to. Organisational members may appoint more colleagues, without limit, but the same person(s) have to represent the organisation throughout the 2 years mandate. 

Maximum 12 members (per each group) will be contacted by the EFRJ Secretariat within two weeks after the deadline. Please note that if a Working Group does not have at least 5 members expressing interest in joining them, we may decide not to launch that group in 2025 (this is not the case for Committees, that can be smaller groups working on key areas for the EFRJ organisational development). 

The main criteria for the selection are: 

  • motivation & experience (focusing on individual interests), 
  • engagement & participation (focusing on the impact on the wider restorative justice field),  
  • availability & expectations (focusing on the practical working methods of the group), and 
  • professional background & country representation, to ensure a variety of different professionals within each group. 

Remember that this call is for EFRJ members with active or new membership, and we welcome people with a full range of perspectives (e.g. people with lived experience).

Group work with the Chairs of Working Groups and Committees in Pamplona 2023

Submit your application

Scroll down to read more about the different Working Groups & Committees!

Are you interested in joining any of the groups below? Prepare your application in a Word document (so that in case you face any issues with the webform you still have a copy of your application) & submit it using this webform.

The deadline is 13 January 2025 (9am CET) - extended deadline. The webform includes questions on:

  • Personal details & type of membership
  • Preference of the Committee/ Working Group
  • Motivation & Experience (Tell us why you would like to be part of the chosen group. Why is this topic important/relevant for advancing the field? Why would you like to engage with other EFRJ members on this topic? What experience do you have relevant to the chosen group(s)? This is about your own interests and benefits for joining the group.)
  • Engagement & Expectations (What objectives would you like to achieve during the two-year mandate? What activities and/or outputs do you envision for this group? How do you imagine the management/ coordination of the group? What would you suggest as a sustainability plan after two years? What support would you expect/want from the EFRJ Secretariat/ Board? This is about your own active participation and contribution in the wider restorative justice field.)

Remember that you will be asked to commit to monthly meetings (or every second month - to be agreed by the group) plus approximately 2-3 hours of work every month on average during the 2-year mandate.

Frequently-asked questions

Engaging members in our Committees and Working Groups is a work in progress, that we keep improving thanks to their constructive feedback and support. In May 2022, we published a document collecting the answers to the most frequently-asked questions. In November 2024, we worked on a new revised version of the guidelines, including the feedback from previous years of experiences. These documents are meant to guide members to better understand the aims, responsibilities, establishment, closure (and much more) of these groups. The guidelines are not binding, and finally each group is free to decide their best working methods within their two years mandate.

What Committees and Working Groups can you apply for?

Five Committees

Members can apply to be part of one of the 5 Committees. Among these, the last two (policy & fundraising) are new (see here the list of the current Committees).

Values & Standards Committee

This Committee works in cooperation with the Executive Director and its results are at the basis of all the rest of our work. Tasks include the creation of European quality and ethical standards for restorative justice, creating practice guidelines and self-assessment tools for restorative justice organisations, and much more. This Committee includes an interdisciplinary group of experts, including practitioners, service directors/managers and academics reflecting on the fundamentals of restorative justice practices. Members having experience in developing practice standards from various restorative justice fields and practices are especially motivated to take part in this Committee.

Communications Committee

This Committee works in cooperation with the Communication Officer to support the design and execution of the EFRJ's communication strategy by evaluating, monitoring, proposing and implementing communication principles and actions. It develops and tailors communication messages for diverse local contexts across Europe and beyond, also incorporating a wider range of languages, mapping the local media landscape on justice issues and building relationships to enhance media coverage in different countries. It expands the EFRJ's reach to audiences beyond the restorative justice community and existing professional networks and it works to increase public awareness. Tasks include to continue curating and editing articles for the Blog/Newsletter; analysing existing communication activities and proposing improvements; and providing support in the coordinating role of the EFRJ in preparing the campaign for the #RJWeek in November. Experience in communication, media, content creation, and/or video editing is a valuable asset, but in general we welcome individuals with a diverse range of skills and backgrounds. 

Training Committee

This Committee works in cooperation with the Training Officer to identify, promote, and support high-quality restorative justice training practices. Tasks include designing  the training strategy for the EFRJ; developing and curating its training quality assurance system; designing training guides, manuals, and activity plans; giving feedback to training plans of trainers commissioned by the EFRJ; evaluating the impact of training events; managing the Restorative Trainers’ Network and its meetings, encouraging exchange between practitioners and trainers; disseminating training-related research; and much more. This Committee may include trainers, educators, teachers, service directors, and senior practitioners. Expertise in business strategy, sales, and finance are also welcomed.

Policy Committee

This is a new EFRJ Committee aimed at supporting the development and implementation of the EFRJ policy strategy. This Committee works in cooperation with the Policy Officer to support national and international policy developments in the field of restorative justice. Tasks include monitoring policy initiatives at the Council of Europe, European Union and United Nations, supporting the coordination of the European Restorative Justice Policy Network (ERJPN), assisting with the publication of the Policy News (two newsletters/ year dedicated to policy developments and targeting policy makers), building and maintaining relationships with relevant policy makers and institutions, drafting policy oriented documents, and much more. Expertise in policy matters and/or in the above-mentioned institutions is highly requested.

Fundraising Committee

This is a new EFRJ Committee contributing to shaping and operationalising the organisation's new fundraising strategy and thus financially supporting the EFRJ in diversifying its funding resources. This Committee works in cooperation with the Treasurer of the EFRJ Board and the EFRJ Executive Director. The Committee is tasked to provide oversight of the fundraising strategy, ensure regular progress is made, address potential bottlenecks, build relations with potential donors, and contribute through ad-hoc support. Tasks include reviewing or editing documents (e.g. fundraising materials, such as brief project concept notes and summaries of the organisations achievements and impact), supporting networking efforts through mapping useful contacts, facilitating introductions or attending meetings/ conferences with potential donors or sponsors, and much more. Expertise in one or more areas of fundraising (e.g. in establishing networks and contacts with private donors such as foundations or corporate donors, or in crowdfunding or with individual sponsors) are an asset.

Note that this year there are some changes in some of the Committees (not relevant to the Values & Standards Committee and the Training Committee).

  • The current Editorial Committee is transformed into the Communications Committee: this is because this group will have a wider mission than  publishing the EFRJ Newsletter, and it will cooperate closely with our Communication Officer to work on the overall communication strategy of the organisation (including social media, blog, awareness campaigns, contacts with the media etc.).
  • We decided to launch a new Policy Committee, to support our Policy Officer in the policy and advocacy strategies of the organisation. This will be an expert group, limited to a few members with senior experience in policy work.
  • Similarly, we decided to launch a new Fundraising Committee to follow-up the implementation of our first fundraising strategy to diversify the EFRJ funding schemes. This expert group is limited to a few members with senior experience in fundraising.
  • The Research Committee will be temporarily paused, despite the EFRJ's interest in supporting research and cooperation with academia, because of our limited capacity to coordinate too many groups, but it does not mean that we will leave research out of our agenda!

Eight Working Groups

Members can apply to take part in one of the 8 Working Groups. Among these, the first 5 are continuation of already existing working groups that will be coordinated by senior EFRJ members in a more independent way from the Secretariat (see here the list of the current Working Groups).

Environmental Restorative Justice

This Working Group focuses on applying restorative justice to socio-environmental issues in response to the growing challenges of climate change. The group collaborates with EFRJ members to develop practical tools, conduct research, and support organisations and practitioners. Past key accomplishments include policy papers, a practice guide, and ongoing case studies. This group plans to expand its efforts through translation, training, and hypothetical or actual application of restorative justice in diverse environmental contexts, aligning with the UN 2030 agenda. The group is attractive to climate activists, community leaders, and experts in corporate crimes and environmental harm.

Restorative Schools

This Working Group seeks to address the integration of restorative practices in educational settings. Focusing on school culture, community engagement, and student well-being, it works with EFRJ members and educational bodies to promote practices that reduce exclusion, encourage dialogue, and build healthy relationships within the community of schools and other educational institutions. The group’s initiatives will include online seminars, workshops, and collaborations with other organisations (e.g. UNICEF). The group is attractive for educators, teachers, youth workers, school directors, child participation experts and others interested in fostering inclusive, trauma-informed, and equitable educational environments.

Gender-Based Violence

This Working Group seeks to advance the application of restorative justice in cases of gender-based violence. Through publications, events, consultancies and advocacy, the group aims to address misunderstandings and barriers that hinder the application of restorative justice to cases of gender-based violence. This work is relevant for women organisations, LGBTQ+ organisations, victim support services, law enforcement institutions, and other stakeholders (e.g. those working with high risk sex offenders, or experienced in intimate patterns violence). One of the main goals is to ensure that survivors’ voices are centred in restorative justice practices and beyond.

Restorative Cities

This Working Group promotes the development of restorative practices in urban areas to foster social cohesion and reduce polarisation. By supporting knowledge exchanges among municipalities in Europe, Oceania, North America and Asia, the group hopes to inspire communities to address conflict and harm constructively.  Restorative cities bring together local administrations, community leaders, law enforcement institutions, civil society organisations, educational institutions and other relevant stakeholders who cooperate to create safe, inclusive, and just spaces through restorative principles embedded within the city’s social fabric. This group aims to continue to develop formal spaces for such knowledge sharing.

Institutions & organisations

This Working Group explores the application of restorative justice within organisational settings, focusing on issues of institutional abuse, deviance, and error. By examining restorative justice from a unique perspective on institutions, the group provides insights into complex relationships and responses in various contexts, from schools to workplaces. Previous research and practice development highlight the relevance of restorative approaches in fostering ethical and supportive institutional cultures. This Working Group aims to continue exploring restorative justice’s application and developing good practice by involving a wide range of professionals.

Imprisonment

This Working Group, focusing on imprisonment as a temporary condition, aims to address restorative justice in and beyond prison. It aims to facilitate rehabilitative processes that connect individuals within prison systems to the wider community, promoting awareness, creating opportunities and facilitating relationships with the wider community. The approach of the group aims to emphasise a holistic, community-centred approach to justice, with collaboration among stakeholders to bridge the transition from incarceration to social reintegration with restorative justice as a crucial part of the process. The group is attractive for those working with people living in closed institutions, as well as those supporting victims to engage in restorative dialogues in prisons.

Transitional Justice

This Working Group will focus on closing the gap between the fields of restorative and transitional justice. The group will explore restorative justice in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, seeking to advance reconciliation, reparations, and reintegration. It aims to build on existing scholarship and practice to develop approaches that support peace processes and societal healing. The group aims at creating practical outcomes and policies that address the complexities of modern- and post-conflict environments, aiming to deepen the impact of restorative justice in transitional justice contexts and provide meaningful support to those affected by conflict through informed policy. The group targets restorative-oriented experiences with individuals and communities affected by large-scale conflicts, mass-victimisation and acts of extreme violence. Practitioner involvement and on-the-ground expertise in fostering restoration and accountability are crucial to translating theoretical frameworks into meaningful practices for peacebuilding that will have a significant impact on reducing boundaries between divided communities.

Restorative Justice and the Law

This Working Group will examine the legal aspects of restorative justice, focusing on its relationship with the criminal justice system. By addressing gaps and challenges identified in recent EU projects, the group hopes to contribute to understanding restorative justice from a legal rights perspective and explore its integration into criminal procedures. The group seeks to reframe justice goals, promote restorative programs as a core element in the criminal justice process, and encourage a mindset shift towards a restorative model of law. The group is relevant for legal practitioners (e.g. judges, lawyers) as well as academics and policymakers interested in the intersections between restorative justice and law.

Photos: meeting of the Chairs of the Working Groups and Committees (Pamplona, June 2023)