Parallel workshops - Tallinn 2024

The EFRJ is a platform for bringing people together, and its conferences are the best occasion to show the variety of expertise that the restorative justice movement includes, involving practitioners, researchers, academics, legal professionals, social workers, artists, policy makers and activists. 

You could propose your idea for one of the parallel workshops during the 12th international EFRJ conference (29-31 May 2024) until 17 December 2023. The call is closed but you can always bring printed materials about your projects and ideas to disseminate during the event.

The main themes of the 12th EFRJ conference will orientate the reflections and discussions of the parallel workshop sessions, but please feel free to propose your own theme: the EFRJ is the place to be creative, innovative and experimental!

1. Restorative justice & violence reduction - How can restorative justice have a role in times of crisis and escalation of violence? What are its limitations? Potential cases and research to be presented may include examples from the micro- (city) to the macro- (war) levels: war and mass victimisation; street violence; police and youth violence; gun violence and school shootings; terrorism; organised crime; polarisation and hate in community settings; systemic and historical violence.
2. Restorative justice  & peacemaking - What is the role of restorative justice in peacemaking? What similarities and differences in these two fields? How are restorative justice practitioners living in conflict zones experiencing their work? How do young people get involved to become the future peace leaders? Potential cases and research to be presented may include examples from the micro- (city) to the macro- (war) levels: police and youth violence; school shootings; activists involved in peace work in their conflict zones, climate change or other social challenges; reintegration of aggressor countries into the international community. 
3. Restorative justice, criminal justice, prisons & the law - What are the limitations of “classic” restorative justice within criminal justice systems (e.g. underreporting, legal evidence of responsibility, cooperation with prisons and victim support services)? Potential cases and research may include different “crisis” situations where harm occurs at the micro- and macro-levels and where restorative justice may support the existing criminal justice system in responding to the needs of parties involved. 
4. Restorative justice & trauma - What is the potential of restorative justice to deal with trauma, healing and recovery of affected individuals and communities? Potential cases and research may include the consequences for different types of victimisation experiences (e.g. families of soldiers returning from the front) as well as the links between restorative justice and mental health.
5. Restorative justice, communications & cultural change - What restorative-oriented approaches are used to prevent violence and tackle systemic issues in our societies? How to cooperate with the media to avoid polarising language and further conflict and violence? How to ensure that (social or mainstream) media are not used as weapons of war and violence? Potential cases and research may include the use of restorative justice in organisations, communities, prisons, schools, as well as practices of restorative journalism.

All workshop sessions will run for 80 minutes (additional 10 minutes are calculated for participants to walk from one session to the next one). Some workshop sessions may include more presenters, grouped together by the Programme Committee.

Proposers may state their time preference and format in the webform and we will do our best to accommodate that. Still, remember that the Programme Committee is responsible for putting together a dynamic, balanced and relevant event. For this reason, we may suggest changes regarding the proposed format, timing, contents, speakers, etc. Also, the Programme Committee may edit and finalise abstracts and descriptions to make them coherent for the final (printed/ digital) booklet. If your proposal will be accepted, you will be invited to an online preparatory meeting (May 2024) with all accepted presenters to respond to the most FAQs on your workshop session.

To obtain a full workshop session, note that we will give priority to proposals that will:

• encourage open discussion, collaboration, and interactivity (rather than those that are in a lecture format followed by a Q&A); and/or
• explore innovative models and approaches and prioritize diversity and inclusion through both contents and format; and/or
• feature more than one contributor, possibly with diverse backgrounds, during the session. 

You should consider the diversity of EFRJ participants (researchers, practitioners, policymakers, activists), the larger community (beyond restorative justice) and/or local partners when organizing your workshop session. 

We encourage participants to contribute by choosing one of the following types of formats to actively participate in the programme of the conference. 

• Dialogue session – 80 minutes 
  This session involves a group of maximum 2 presenters (co-)facilitating a dialogue with the audience (no frontal presentations in this format, only brief introduction to the topic); it is an opportunity to gather ideas and/or feedback and work collaboratively in a given set of themes, or challenges. The proposal must include the introduction to the topic as well as the methodology to involve the audience in a discussion, with the objective of exchange and potential cooperation to arise.
• Panel discussion - 80 minutes
  This session consists of a panel of experts (preferably from different countries or different institutions/ organisations or different research/ practice/ policy works), each approaching the main topic from a different perspective, and including sufficient time (min 20 min) for Q&A and discussion. It is the opportunity to go deeper into the topic and exchange with the audience. If you have a great idea and need some assistance to identify other presenters for your panel, you can contact the EFRJ Secretariat.
• Skills workshop – 80 minutes 
  This session involves one or more experts who will facilitate practical exercises to learn specific skills and methodologies, sharing field experience on specific situations. The proposal must include the details of the activity (objectives and methodology), including min-max number of participants, their level of experience, and eventual materials needed.
• Presentation – 20 minutes 
  This session is meant for individuals (maximum two) willing to present their project results, experiences, practices or research findings. Thanks to the various expertise within the audience, this is the opportunity for dissemination and research-practice exchanges. The Programme Committee will combine this individual contribution with others of a similar theme into one parallel session, and an appointed moderator will make sure that time is left for feedback and discussion.
• Research & Practice Briefs - 10 minutes
  In this short presentation (if needed, one slide or one poster show), the individual presenter introduces the audience with a short summary of their work, innovation, solution, findings. The abstract must include 3 main key-messages for the audience and 3 questions for reflection/ further advancement. The Programme Committee will include these individual contributions into other parallel sessions.
• Poster show
  Participants can take part in the programme by proposing a poster, to be taken at the info desk of the conference to be displayed during the 3-day event. The poster (A2 format) should include: title, introduction to the topic, main (research/ practice) questions, methodology, results, conclusions including follow-up ideas/ questions, and the contact details of the author(s).
• Out-of-the-box
  You may propose a film screening, or a performance, or a walk & talk, or any other innovative workshop fitting the main conference themes. In this case make sure you explain in the abstract your objectives, main themes, methodology, questions, and eventual materials/ technical support needed.