Italy

Aleteia works in a national context, particularly in the territory of the Tuscany Region. Aleteia promotes and implements projects of solidarity and social development, in particular: social and cultural initiatives, projects of primary and secondary prevention; training and orientation; initiatives of conflict resolution, conciliation, and social, familial, civil, corporate and penal mediation.

In respect of the Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, Aleteia works on strengthening and guaranteeing the rights of all victims, such as the right to information and support, no matter the type of crime or socio-physical characteristic, such as sex, age, ethnic or social origin, race, religion or belief or socio-economic and sanitary conditions of the victim.

Our team is composed of mediators, criminologists, lawyers, psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social operators, and corporate coaches with long-time experience. As members of the EFRJ, we seek to collaborate with other organizations across Europe that work in the field of restorative justice.

Contact: Andreea Mihai

Associazione Sponde' ONLUS aims to spread a culture of peace, strengthen the standards of civic culture, and contribute to the containment of social alarm through actions in the field of general and special prevention.

The operators, trained in mediation according to a humanistic approach, ensure each of the defendants a space of speech and listening, protected and reserved, where everyone can give voice to their experience and their emotions.

The non-profit MIRAI Association has been operating since 2019, particularly in Liguria and Tuscany.

MIRAI supports individual and community growth, through the work of its members, volunteers and collaborators.

The Association's approach is based on the principles of Nonviolent Communication and the idea that dialogue can transform relationships and social systems. In particular, the goal of our projects is not to teach specific practices, but to recognise and to bring out the resources that already exist at an individual level and in the community, strengthening and structuring them, so that the community can build shared ways to address tensions in a creative and regenerative way. 

MIRAI works in prisons, schools, hospitals and other non-institutional contexts in Italy.

In many of these projects, MIRAI is inspired by the 30 years of experience of Dominic Barter, recognised internationally for his innovative approach based on Restorative Justice and Nonviolent Communication.

The non-profit community association "Il Gabbiano" has been operating in Lombardy since 1983 for the promotion and protection of the dignity of the person, in particular in cases where there are problems with drug addiction and alcoholism.

Over the years, to meet the growing demands for intervention in the context of social hardship, Il Gabbiano has extended its services to the reception of women and men with AIDS and underage children at serious risk of social marginalization.
The Association is registered in the Social Section of the General Regional Registry of Volunteers: on a legal level, it is a Non-Profit Organization of Social Utility (ONLUS), recognized, among other things, by the Juvenile Justice Office of the Ministry of Justice for the placement of minors in criminal situations.

Il Gabbiano is part of the National Coordination of the Reception Communities (CNCA), the Italian Housing and Housing Coordination for AIDS Patients (CICA), the Regional Accommodation House Coordination for People with AIDS (CRCA), the Coordination of Auxiliary Bodies of Lombardy (CEAL) and is recognized at the regional level as an Auxiliary Body. Manager of rehabilitation and reintegration structures for women and men with drug addiction and alcohol dependence problems.
 

Founded in 1976, the Diocesan Caritas of Perugia-Città della Pieve is the pastoral body of the local Archdiocese dedicated to promoting Christian charity. Inspired by the Catholic faith, it serves as a concrete expression of the Church's commitment to fostering solidarity, social justice, and peace, with particular attention to the most vulnerable.

Located in the heart of central Italy, in the Umbria region, and headquartered in the city of Perugia, it operates in 15 municipalities across the province. Its mission is to encourage the witness of charity in view of the integral development of the human being, social justice, and peace, with a special focus on those most in need and with a predominantly pedagogical function, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

The Diocesan Caritas of Perugia-Città della Pieve firmly embraces and promotes the values expressed in the ethical code of Caritas Internationalis: justice, common good, integral human development, compassion, respect, and solidarity.

To bring pastoral guidelines to life, the Diocesan Caritas relies on the San Lorenzo Charity Foundation, a non-profit entity that represents its operational arm, implementing projects, services, and interventions in support of local communities. It also promotes advocacy actions aimed at raising public awareness, influencing social policies, and protecting the rights of the most fragile individuals.

In the field of justice, the Diocesan Caritas and the Foundation actively collaborate with the prison system, the Office for External Penal Execution, and the Juvenile Social Services Office of the Italian Ministry of Justice. These collaborations are part of initiatives aimed at promoting and facilitating paths of inclusion and integration within the community, and safeguarding the rights and dignity of individuals involved in the penal system.

Starting in 2024, the “Seeds of Charity” project has also been launched, funded by the “8xmille” initiative of the Catholic Church, with the goal of spreading principles, values, and practices of restorative justice within the community.

Since its founding in 1990 in Milan, the Asteria Center has aimed to be a place where paths of gathering, education, and training are created for the overall and harmonious growth of the individual. With a focus on the local community, it offers cultural meetings, round tables, and open testimonies to the public, particularly targeting young students, teachers, and the most vulnerable groups in our society. The Asteria Center organises artistic and cultural events with the goal of providing tools to develop a critical analysis of today. Using multiple languages (theater, conferences, testimonies, cinema), it addresses topics that cross disciplinary boundaries for the comprehensive growth of the person. The mission of the Asteria Center is a constant and ongoing commitment to improving the accessibility of its various offerings to the most vulnerable social groups, through the introduction of technological systems aimed at removing architectural barriers and organising events dedicated to overcoming social differences, in order to promote cultural integration.

The C.E.A.S. Cooperative Society Srl - Educational Center for Reception and Solidarity was established in December 1999 to meet the need to create an integrated system of interventions to prevent and combat juvenile hardship on the territory of Rome and Province, with particular reference to the socio-health district No. 32 (Mentana-Monterotondo-Fonte Nuova).

The Study Center on Reparatory Justice and Mediation (CeSGReM) was established on 6 October 2014 to encourage research, training and the dissemination of knowledge on restorative justice, mediation and alternative conflict resolution tools, carrying out and promoting research activities and projects and training courses.

The C.I.P.M., or Italian Center for the Promotion of Mediation, is a social cooperative founded in March 1995 in Milan by a group of criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, social workers and magistrates. It constitutes the first presence organized on national territory for the training and dissemination of mediation practices.

Since then, the Association has proposed to promote the peaceful management of conflicts through mediation, to coordinate and sponsor professional bodies and initiatives and to participate in or promote forums for reflection and study concerning issues related to mediation and peaceful conflict management

DIKE - Cooperativa per la Mediazione dei Conflitti has been working in restorative justice in Italy for almost 30 years.

Initially founded as an association in 2001 by a group of scholars and experts in legal, social, pedagogical and psychological disciplines under the guidance of Professor Adolfo Ceretti, it then became a cooperative in 2008 in Milan. Starting from the training in the humanistic model received from Jaqueline Morineau, later complemented by other operational models, the founding group created in 1998 one of the first Italian pilot projects for the start-up of mediation practices in Italy, which led to the opening of the Juvenile Criminal Mediation Office at the Municipality of Milan.

Still today, Dike mediators manage restorative justice programmes at the Centre for Restorative Justice of the Municipality of Milan on the basis of public tenders. In addition to restorative justice programmes, DIKE carries out social, school and business mediation projects, manages mediation centres and offers technical and scientific advice for the opening of conflict mediation and restorative justice centres and services in all Italian regions.

DIKE is also engaged in training and awareness-raising actions addressed to legal practitioners, social workers, law enforcement agencies, schools, families, voluntary associations.

DIKE currently employs experienced mediators and trainers who are enrolled in the Ministry of Justice registers pursuant to decree 150/22. Some of its mediators are also University lecturers and international experts who regularly participate in conferences, debates, lectures, and are authors of publications on the subject. Some of them have been part of the States-General on Penal Execution promoted by the Minister of Justice in 2015 and of Commission V that led to the drafting of the text of legislative decree 150/22, the first Italian law on Restorative Justice.

ESSERE UMANI o.n.l.u.s. is an NGO based in Turin, a city in the north-west of Italy. 

It’s a social justice movement that operates in environments at risk of dehumanisation, like schools, hospitals and penal institutions. To (re)bring humanity into these contexts we use restorative justice tools, such as active listening, conflict management, and empathy in an attempt to give value to all the interpersonal relationships that surround us.

The philosophy we are referring to is the "Ubuntu" philosophy, according to which "I am what I am because of who we all are". 

Fr. Calabria started his Mission by taking care of poor children, whom he called “buoni fanciulli” (good children).

Nowadays, there are many Calabrian houses in the world, that take care of children and adults as well: daycare centres, foster homes, shelters, kindergartens, schools, professional training centres, social centres and rehab centres.

The Nathan Association brings together people who are dedicated to restorative justice and prison. Prison is a response to injustice and crime that increasingly turns out to be an irrational choice linked to logic unable to plan in the medium and long term. The lack of funds and information in this area makes the initiatives capable of giving effective and often fragile responses. The main objective is to promote the culture of restorative justice by carrying out initiatives that lead to the dissemination of restorative justice practices such as the establishment of the network of restorative justice centres or the Summer School - “The Justice of the Encounter” in Bergamo.

Nathan promotes the reception of refugees and supports the victims of human trafficking, and in 2017 he developed a project with Caritas Bergamo for the reception of asylum seekers in the family as a remedial practice of what migration causes within a community.

Nathan works to create a network of bodies operating in the field of justice and through it to disseminate information on the services that the national and European territory offers to offenders, victims and their families. Nathan facilitates the network to raise funds to implement restorative justice actions.

Procedamus is a training-intervention project for Universities and researchers. 

Regione Autonoma Trentino Alto-Adige/ Uffico Integrazione Europeane aiuti umanitari is responsible for implementing regional laws on European integration.
It takes care of the obligations connected with the implementation of the purposes set out in the regional laws on humanitarian aid, ensuring connections with state bodies responsible for development cooperation at national and international levels. Cura the formalities related to the provision of scholarships in favour of students of high schools for attending a school year abroad.

SOS Villaggi dei Bambini is committed to ensuring that children and young people who cannot benefit from adequate parental care grow up in a situation of equality with their peers, realising their full potential and the possibility of living an independent life. It has been operating for over 60 years in Italy and today runs 8 Programs and SOS Villages, in Trento, Ostuni, Vicenza, Saronno, Mantua, Turin, Crotone and Milan. SOS Villaggi dei Bambini takes cares for more than 2.600 people, including children, youth and families living in severe situations of hardship, and promotes the rights of more than 47.000 children and young people who benefit from its Advocacy activities. It is part of SOS Children's Villages network, which supports about 3 million people in 136 countries and territories. At the international level, SOS Villaggi dei Bambini hosts and manages the Global Program Expert Group (GPEG) on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).

Dating back to 1222, the University of Padova (UNIPD) is one of the oldest universities in the World and one of the leading Universities in Italy with a long tradition and consolidated reputation for scientific excellence. Its 32 departments, 40 doctoral degree courses and 44 interdisciplinary research and service centres cover an exceptionally broad research scope including Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Engineering, Physics, Technology, Life Sciences, Medicine, and Natural Sciences. Frontier Research@UNIPD is funded by Intramural grants and European projects, being the first driver for technology transfer. The University of Padova is recognized among the best Italian universities, with 60,000 students and about 2,300 professors and researchers employed.

Thanks to a project on European research networks, undertaken by three scholars at the Department of Private Law and Critic of Law, Federico Reggio (senior researcher), Stefano Fuselli (full professor) and Paolo Moro (full professor), UNIPD has formalized the application for joining the European Forum for Restorative Justice as organizational member, intending to promote, within this network, virtuous connections among scholars involved in the study of Restorative Justice and closely related fields.

In line with the spirit of its founders, the Università Cattolica specifically aims to ensure the presence of committed people in the academic and cultural world who are prepared to address and solve the problems of society and culture, enlightened by the Christian message and Christian moral principles.