Posters & networking area - Poznań 2026

These posters will be displayed work throughout the 3-day event at SWPS University. Scroll down, or click on the titles, to read abstracts and authors' bios. 

1. Shifting Positions: Victims and Offenders in Child Justice - Katrine Barnekow Rasmussen (Denmark)
2. A Restorative Continuum for Elder Abuse: Practice Lessons and Case Studies Across a Spectrum of Dialogue-Based Interventions - Richard Dening (Australia)
3. Restorative Justice for Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes: A New Practice Guide - Tomasz Filipiak - OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
4. Restorative Justice and Perpetrator Programmes: Potentials, Boundaries, and Ethical Pathways - Alessandra Pauncz - Work With Perpetrators European Network (WWP EN)

5. Why Restorative Justice in Prison (and Closed Institutions) Matters? - EFRJ Working Group on Imprisonment

6. Victim-Offender Mediation in the Czech Republic in Practice - Simona Diblikova (Czech Republic)
7. Implementing Restorative Justice in Italy: Insights from the Padua Pilot Experience - Debora Provolo & Elena Cadamuro (Italy)
8. Key Findings from Scotland’s Restorative Justice Test Case Project 2024/25 - Lauren Emmerson (Scotland, UK)
9. Restorative Justice from the Public Perspective in the Post-Socialist Czech Republic - Lenka Holá & Jan Šlesingr (Czech Republic)

10. Ukraine’s Juvenile Restorative Justice Programme - Oleksandr Baranov (Ukraine)

11. Bergamo & Chernivtsi: Restorative Experiences Between Italy & Ukraine - Anna Cattaneo (Italy)

12. Challenges and Limitations of Restorative Justice in Colombia’s Transitional Justice Context - Laura Sofia Zambrano Salazar (Northern Ireland, UK)

13. From Legal Conflict to Ecological Alliance: Restorative Justice in Taiwan’s Wildlife Law Reform - Lanying Huang (Taiwan)

14. Assessing Restorative Justice in Large-Scale Socio-Environmental Conflicts: A Dialectical Analytical Matrix Applied to the Brumadinho Dam Collapse in Brazil - Gabriela Pinheiro (Brazil/ Belgium)

15. No man is an Island: The Justice of Encounter - Franco Bonisoli & Asteria Center (Italy)
16. Conflict Resolution at University from a Restorative Perspective: The PRISMA Project - Federica Maggio, Gian Luigi Lepri and Patrizia Patrizi (Italy)
17. Restorative Justice in Schools: Experiences Conducted by the Restorative Justice Practices Team in Sassari University - Federica Maggio, Giovanni Natale, Gian Luigi Lepri and Patrizia Patrizi (Italy)
18. Beyond Punishment: A Motivational Framework for Equity and Inclusion Complaints - Madison B. Tardif (United States)
19. Learning and Teaching (in) a Circle - Martina Kurowski (Czech Republic)
20. Sankofa Reconciliation: Decolonizing Restorative Justice in Schools, Systems and Community - LaToya Fernandez (United States)

Publishing house De Gruyter Brill will be present in Poznań with a stand including recent publications on restorative justice. This is an opportunity for participants to discuss any questions regarding the publication process. Individual members of EFRJ and partner organisations are eligible for a discount on the restorative justice publications. Also, by filling in an online questionnaire at the table, participants will have the chance to reserve and take home one of the displayed copies of the books or of The International Journal of Restorative Justice! 

The conference in Poznań will also bring together several authors of the series Studies in Restorative Justice, the Handbook on Methods in Restorative Justice Research and the International Encyclopedia of Restorative Justice, offering diverse perspectives on restorative justice from all continents and. Its European volume will be launched on Friday 12 June evening in the networking hall, followed by drinks reception offered by publisher BRILL.

Speakers: 

• Audrey McMahon (Acquisitions Editor, BRILL)
• Ivo Aertsen & Jennifer Llewellynn (General Editors of the Encylopaedia)
• Friender Dünkel & Andrea Păroşanu (European volume)

Poster presenters will display their work throughout the 3-day event at SWPS University. On Saturday morning, a networking cafe is scheduled to informally engage into a talk with the authors. Scroll down to read about each poster.

This poster shares early results from an ongoing, novel research on the (high!) share of young offenders (10-17 years) referred to the Danish Youth Offending Boards, who have previously been registered as crime victims themselves. The research draws on register data and access to board files. The share of registered victims is far higher among the children and youth referred to the boards than among their peers in the population at large. Not knowing their victimization status, the boards subject the young offenders who have previously been registered as victims to more extensive ‘courses of improvement’ with longer follow-up periods than those not registered as victims. The research seeks to problematize the absence of consideration to this victim/offender overlap in the practice of the boards as well as in other classical approaches to youth offending, and to discuss the (lost?) potential of restorative processes in this regard.

• Katrine Barnekow Rasmussen is assistant professor in criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. In her research, Katrine has focused on access to and embeddedness of restorative justice initiatives as well as youth offending and system responses to crime.

Elder abuse frequently occurs in family contexts where older people decline to pursue criminal justice options, requiring practitioners to draw on a broader suite of restorative and dialogue-based interventions. This poster introduces a continuum of responses (Elder Mediation, Family Group Conferencing, Restorative Justice Conferencing and Eldercaring Coordination) positioned as a cohesive spectrum that aligns intervention type with levels of risk, conflict and harm. This continuum, developed from a synthesis of international research, highlights how these models differ in purpose, timing, participant readiness and suitability, yet collectively form an adaptable restorative ecosystem for ageing societies.

• Richard Dening is a PhD student at the Australian National University’s Centre for Restorative Justice, where his research examines the training and skills development of restorative justice practitioners and the role practitioner capability plays in driving restorative institutional change. An experienced restorative justice practitioner, mediator, conflict coach and group facilitator, Richard has worked in public sector restorative justice programs for over thirteen years. 

The publication “Implementing Restorative Justice for Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes - a Practical Guide”, released by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE ODIHR) in Warsaw, shows how restorative justice can be used to address hate incidents and hate crimes. It acknowledges the potential benefits of restorative justice while emphasizing the importance of a victim-centred and intersectional approach. It recognizes the multi-faceted nature of hate crime and its long-lasting impact on individuals and communities. The aim of the guide is to help practitioners navigate the complexities of restorative justice in hate crime and hate incident cases, while addressing the limitations and risks of such practices. It is a resource for anyone involved in supporting victims of hate crime to ensure that restorative justice is a transformative tool for healing, empowerment and social cohesion.

• Tomasz Filipiak works for the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), one of the key human rights bodies worldwide. Based in Warsaw, Poland, ODIHR is the human rights institution of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest regional security organization.

Restorative justice (RJ) is increasingly promoted as a pathway to accountability and repair. However, in domestic and sexual violence contexts, its application raises serious ethical and safety concerns. This poster argues that RJ is not neutral: without strict safeguards, it risks reinforcing coercion, pressuring victims, and re-privatising violence. Drawing on the European framework of perpetrator programmes and the standards of the Istanbul Convention, it outlines the boundaries within which restorative approaches may be considered. The analysis highlights that while RJ and perpetrator programmes share goals such as responsibility-taking and behavioural change, they differ fundamentally in structure and risk management. Perpetrator programmes provide essential functions (assessment, preparation, and monitoring) that are prerequisites for any safe restorative process. The poster concludes that restorative encounters in domestic violence should remain exceptional, survivor-led, and embedded within a system of accountability. Without this foundation, restoration risks becoming a substitute for justice rather than a careful extension of it.

• Alessandra Pauncz is Executive Director of the European Network of the work with perpetrators (WWP EN) a young vibrant network organization of over 80 organizations from 35 European countries. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and has been working in the field of domestic violence for over 25 years covering many areas of expertise. 

Restorative justice practices in prison (and broader closed institutions) have already existed for almost 30 years but remains absent in a lot of European prisons. Today, EU countries make prison sentences, have a more punitive view, are confronted with prison overcrowding. So, why does restorative justice in prison (still) matters for you? Why is it still important to invest in this field? This interactive poster of the EFRJ Working Group on Imprisonment and Restorative Justice has two purposes: 1) Gathering experiences, by collecting insights from participants on why restorative justice in prisons matter for them to have a global overview of why we still need to invest in restorative justice in closed institutions; and 2) Building a network, by facilitating connections among professionals, researchers, and those interested in this area, with the goal of expressing the different layers and give possible new insights for the members of EFRJ Working Group.

• Rocío Nicolás López is a restorative justice facilitator, trainer and researcher, working for AMEE - Asociación para la Mediación, el Encuentro y la Escucha in Spain.
• Daniela Arieti is victim offender mediator with experience working in Italian prisons, working in the Centro di Giustizia Riparativa for the region of Trentino Alto Adige in Italy.
• Bart Claes is a professor Restorative Justice & Prison Studies at Avans University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands) and co-founder of the Dutch Centre of Expertise on Children of Imprisoned Parents.
• Tiina Pakkonen is leading specialist in victim support services of South Region at the Social Insurance Board, Victim support department, Estonia.
• Roberto Moreno Alvarez is the responsible officer for justice, prisoners and victims of terrorism at the office of the ombudsman for the Basque Country, Spain.

The poster portrays the results of a questionnaire survey among Probation and Mediation Service (PMS) staff. The questions concerned the use of restorative practices (victim-offender mediation, family group conferences, circles etc.) in PMS practice. Respondents commented, for example, on the general public's awareness of victim-offender mediation and on cooperation with law enforcement agencies in this area. Based on their practical experience, they formulated what prevents more frequent use of mediation, what obstacles and problems arise in the preparation and implementation of the mediation meeting itself. Opinions on the motivation of victims and perpetrators and a number of other factors were monitored.

• Simona Diblikova is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague, where she also obtained a doctorate in criminal law. Her research focuses on youth crime, criminal policy, alternative punishments, and restorative justice. She is the national correspondent for The European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics and a member of the Czech Criminological Society.

The Cartabia Reform introduced in Italy a comprehensive legal framework for restorative justice in criminal matters, aligned with international principles and marking a significant cultural shift that must now be integrated into legal practice. In this context, the presented research was carried out on the experimental activities launched by the Restorative Justice Centre of the Municipality of Padua during the reform process, with the aim of identifying areas for further development. The study highlighted well-established best practices but also critical issues linked to the limited spread of restorative culture among legal professionals. Special attention was given to cases of gender-based and domestic violence, which require stronger networking among support services to prevent secondary victimisation, and accurately assess the parties’ needs. Overall, the research results provide an opportunity for a joint reflection on the need for a shift in perspective to fully recognise the transformative potential of restorative justice.

• Debora Provolo is Associate Professor of Criminal law and restorative justice at the University of Padua (Italy). Her main research interests are restorative justice, criminology, economic criminal law, criminal bio-law. On these topics she has been speaker at conferences in Italy and abroad and she has authored many publications, including monographic works.
• Elena Cadamuro is an adjunct professor of Criminal law at the University of Padua (Italy). Her main research interests are restorative justice, juvenile and family criminal law, and criminal bio-law. On these topics she has been speaker at conferences in Italy and abroad and she has authored many publications, including monographic works.

The National Leads for restorative justice work in Scotland share key learning and findings from a recent Test Case Project, which involved the recruitment, monitoring and evaluation of RJ test cases from a range of providers across a variety of ages (children and adults), harm types, system processes and geographical areas over 2024/25. The poster will outline scope and approach of the project (including design, research approaches, and ethical considerations) and key findings from the project itself alongside summary learning from what RJ Practitioners told us. Viewers invited to consider how this important learning can be applied to their respective nations and settings.

• Lauren Emmerson has worked in social work with children and their families in Scotland for twenty years. Occupying a range of roles, her work has focussed on the power of relationships in connection, healing, and improved outcomes for children. Lauren joined the Children & Young People's Centre for Justice in May 2024 and has been working to support Scotland’s ambition that restorative justice is available to all, ensuring that children’s needs and rights remain at the heart of the work.

Is the development and place of restorative justice in post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe different from that in Western Europe? And what are the attitudes of the Czech public towards restorative changes in criminal policy? These questions are answered by research conducted by a team of experts from the Faculty of Law at Palacký University in Olomouc, which deals with these issues. The poster will present the results of a questionnaire survey of 3,577 Czech citizens aged 15 and over. The main factors supporting the development of restorative justice in society will be identified.

• Lenka Holá is an academic researcher. She leads the research project "Mediation in Criminal Justice in the Context of Restorative Justice." She is a practicing mediator.
• Jan Šlesingr is a Ph.D. student specializing in criminal law. He works as an assistant to a judge at the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic.

This poster presents the development of restorative justice in Ukraine through the state legal aid system, from pilot initiatives to a systemic model integrated into access to justice mechanisms. The focus is on the Juvenile Restorative Justice Programme, implemented since 2019 in cooperation with investigators, prosecutors, lawyers, mediators, probation authorities, psychologists, and child protection services. The programme promotes dialogue between victims and juveniles in conflict with the law, supports reintegration, and contributes to reducing reoffending. The poster also highlights wartime initiatives focused on veterans and cross-border family mediation under the Hague Convention framework. Particular attention is paid to interdisciplinary cooperation, accessibility of services, and the role of restorative justice in strengthening trust, social cohesion, and the adaptation of Ukrainian juvenile justice legislation to child-friendly justice principles in line with European standards.

• Oleksandr Baranov is the Director of the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision, responsible for the implementation of Ukraine’s interagency pilot project within the state legal aid system, the Juvenile Restorative Justice Programme.
• Other colleagues present: Iryna Bondarenko, Anu Valimaki & Andrii Kundria 

The experience between Bergamo and Chernivtsi stems from the commitment of the Restorative Justice Center InConTra to respond to the Russia–Ukraine conflict through practices of dialogue and humanistic mediation. Starting from listening meetings with Ukrainian refugees in Italy, a path of educational and institutional exchange was developed. The participation of Ukrainian professors in the Summer School “The Justice of Encounter” at the University of Bergamo further strengthened this collaboration. The project evolved through training activities and field visits, and on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Restorative Justice Center, representatives from Chernivtsi took part in a November event where the Manifesto for a Restorative City of Bergamo was relaunched. This approach deeply engaged them, inspiring the desire to promote a similar path in their own city. The aim is to support the dissemination of restorative justice in conflict contexts, fostering relationships, dialogue, and processes of social reconstruction.

• Anna Cattaneo (and Filippo Vanoncini, who will not be present in Poznan) are expert mediators and trainers in restorative justice at the Restorative Justice Center of Bergamo (InConTra ETS). They are also involved in education and training, promoting restorative approaches within communities and institutions.

It is often difficult to envision how restorative practices can be applied to address gross human rights violations following a prolonged armed conflict. Colombia has confronted this challenge through the creation of a transitional justice mechanism that emphasizes a Restorative Justice (RJ) approach. Despite considerable obstacles, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has demonstrated that it is possible to incorporate restorative practices into its procedures, facilitate dialogue between victims and perpetrators, and document the extensive harms inflicted during the conflict. Nevertheless, significant questions remain regarding the limitations of RJ in repairing certain types of harm and in designing restorative sanctions that adequately address victims’ needs while also enabling perpetrators to reintegrate into society.

• Laura Zambrano is a doctoral student at the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast. Her research examines the potential of restorative justice to address socio-economic harms and social exclusion in transitional justice settings, with a particular focus on the Colombian case study. She is supervised by Professor Louise Mallinder and Dr. Alice Panepinto.

Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples have long faced criminalisation when sustaining their hunting traditions under the Wildlife Conservation Act. This poster presents two Taiwan black bear cases: one before and one after the 2025 reform exempting non-profit Indigenous subsistence hunting from criminal liability. It examines how the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency used restorative justice principles to engage Indigenous hunters, reconcile state–community relations and promote ecological protection. The case illustrates how environmental restorative justice can transform legal conflicts into alliances for conservation and Indigenous rights.

• Lanying Huang, Ph.D., is a criminologist and former police officer who earned her Criminology doctorate from the School of Law at the University of Manchester, UK. She is currently an Associate Professor and Director at National Taipei University. She has published on various topics such as policing, substance abuse, human trafficking, victims of violent crime, green criminology, and restorative justice. 

This research proposes a framework for assessing restorative justice in large-scale socio-environmental conflicts through a dialectical analytical matrix linking justice theory and conflict resolution methodology. The matrix draws on Nancy Fraser’s conception of justice as participatory parity and on the Dispute System Design perspective developed by Amsler, Martinez, and Smith. It was developed in a master’s dissertation based on documentary analysis of reports produced by the Center for Advisory Services to Communities Affected by Dams (Nacab) regarding the Brumadinho dam collapse in Brazil. Through qualitative analysis, the matrix examines the what, the who, and the how of restorative processes: affected communities’ perceptions of justice and restoration; the identification of who is affected and under which social and cultural conditions; and how conflicts are structured. Applied to Brumadinho, the matrix showed exclusion from central decision-making spaces and only peripheral participation, limiting participatory parity and the potential of restorative responses in socio-environmental conflicts.

• Gabriela Pinheiro is a lawyer and researcher whose work focuses on restorative justice, socio-environmental conflicts, and access to justice. She combines academic research with experience in legal education and advocacy in support of social movements, especially alongside communities affected by dam collapses. She is currently a Communication Intern at EFRJ.

Since 2015, the Asteria Center in Milan has launched an educational project for high school students, focusing on the testimonies of victims and perpetrators of the armed struggle of the 1970s' Italy. Over 3,000 students participate each year. The project, which also includes meetings on legal and historical topics, promotes  a better understanding of the restorative justice approach. In 2025,  a training course named "For a Restorative School" was launched, to provide teachers with restorative practices, to manage school conflicts. In this context, numerous students recently had the opportunity to engage with representatives of the Parents Circle – Families Forum (composed of bereaved parents from Israel and Palestine), who shared their personal stories, marked by loss but also by the choice not to remain prisoners of grief and revenge. This poster collects the experiences and creative works of the students who engaged in this journey. During the networking cafe, participants can engage in conversations with Franco Bonisoli, actively engaged in the schools' work raising awareness about the potential and challenges of restorative justice.

• Franco Bonisoli is a restorative justice advocate, member of the Italian group of people with lived experience of terrorism, part of The Encounter of the Encounters.

Feeling good at university, as in any other context in our lives, requires respect for others and care for relationships. As in any place where people live together, conflicts and injustices can arise at university. How can we prevent this from happening? How can we deal with conflict? How can we restore justice when a wrong or an offence has occurred? The restorative approach aims to promote “fair” relationships and, when an injustice has occurred, to repair the damage and alleviate suffering through dialogue and understanding. Through the PRISMA project “Promoting Individual and Social Resources in the Academic World - University for Wellbeing”, circles were organised at university residences. The main aim was to create an open, safe and welcoming space where students could engage in meaningful discussion and dialogue, improve their resilience, interpersonal relationships and sense of belonging to the university community, and reduce harm within it. This poster is presented by the members of the Chair of Social and Legal Psychology and of the Restorative Justice Practices Team directed by Prof. Patrizia Patrizi, members of the EFRJ, mostly active in the EFRJ Working Group on Restorative Cities.

• Federica Maggio is a PhD student in at the University of Sassari.
• Gian Luigi Lepri is a psychologist and psychotherapist based in Rome.
• Patrizia Patrizi, psychologist and psychotherapist, is Full Professor at the University of Sassari, and former Chair of the EFRJ Board.
• Other collaborators, not present in Poznan, are: Lucrezia Perrella, Maria Luisa Scarpa and Ernesto Lodi.

This poster focuses on the introduction of restorative justice practices in schools across Sassari and Tempio Pausania in Sardinia (Italy), where restorative approaches have become a guiding framework for strengthening relationships and addressing conflict constructively. The poster highlights practical methods used in both primary and secondary schools, showing how participatory circles and guided activities can help build empathy, improve school climate, and foster a stronger sense of community. Attention is also given to ongoing developments, including efforts to redesign school disciplinary procedures through a restorative lens. The poster offers valuable insights for educators and practitioners interested in cultivating more inclusive, resilient, and connected learning environments. This poster is presented by the members of the Chair of Social and Legal Psychology and of the Restorative Justice Practices Team directed by Prof. Patrizia Patrizi, members of the EFRJ, mostly active in the EFRJ Working Group on Restorative Cities.

• Federica Maggio is a PhD student in at the University of Sassari.
• Giovanni Natale is a psychologist and a PhD student at the University of Sassari. 
• Gian Luigi Lepri is a psychologist and psychotherapist based in Rome.
• Patrizia Patrizi, psychologist and psychotherapist, is Full Professor at the University of Sassari, and former Chair of the EFRJ Board.
• Other collaborators, not present in Poznan, are: Lucrezia Perrella, Maria Luisa Scarpa and Ernesto Lodi.

Post-secondary institutions increasingly commit to Justice, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization, and Inclusion (JEDDII), yet the complaints systems designed to address JEDDII-related harms often remain rooted in punitive, bureaucratic, and colonial structures. These systems can unintentionally erode trust, limit agency, and deepen harm, especially for marginalized communities. This poster focuses on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and restorative justice approaches to reimagine institutional approaches to conflict, accountability, and complaints. Attention is given to how current systems may thwart the core basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and why these needs matter for restorative, healing-centred, trauma-informed responses to harm. 

• Madison B. Tardif is the Equity Advisor for the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Faculty of Medicine at University of British Columbia. She has a background in Political Science and her previous research focused on policy and decision-making in Indigenous Self-Government.

This poster introduces "The Way of Council", a non-hierarchical group practice and pedagogical innovation for strengthening core Restorative Justice (RJ) skills based on four core intentions: Listening from the Heart, Speaking from the Heart, Being Spontaneous, and Being Lean. The Council offers a repeatable framework, centered on the talking piece and intentional dialogue, that cultivates personal and professional resilience. It is a scalable model for fostering empathy, applicable to community building and conflict exploration, and essential for enhancing RJ's relational capacity and public influence. 

• Martina Kurowski, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Pedagogy at Masaryk University's Faculty of Education in Brno. Her professional expertise focuses on key areas of social pedagogy, culturally sensitive education, and inclusion. She is actively involved in several community and international projects with the organisation Vicinis.

Sankofa Circles offer a powerful, culturally rooted approach to restorative practice, blending African traditions with modern methods of dialogue and healing. Grounded in the principle of Sankofa (“to return and retrieve what is valuable”) the model invites participants to explore how ancestral wisdom, storytelling, breathwork, and intention-setting can deepen restoration and connection. The poster highlights how embodiment and spirituality enhance accountability and community trust while resisting the institutional co-optation of restorative justice. It provides reflective prompts to integrate cultural authenticity into one's own practice, fostering environments of empathy, dignity, and collective care.

• LaToya Fernandez is a restorative justice practitioner, peace builder and educator with 15 years of experience advancing equity and community healing. She is a consultant for the Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) and founder of Beyond Circles. Her practice centers on decolonizing restorative approaches by integrating African ancestral traditions, somatic healing, and community accountability.