The Annual EPTA Conference: Call for Papers

Despite the obstacles caused by the COVID-19 virus outbreak, the European Penitentiary Training Academies (EPTA) network will continue its work in bringing together training academies in Europe through the Annual EPTA Conference. With the shared goal of promoting good practices and stimulating debate on issues of correctional training, the Conference will take place on 28 and 29 September 2020. Under the current Slovakian Presidency, the General Directorate of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard, the Conference is planned to take place in Bratislava. If this is not possible, it will be organized as an online conference.

Taking lessons from the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, on flexibility and readiness, this year the conference will focus on managing, training and education activities during lockdown due to the coronavirus. The conference follows up on the EPTA conference from last year in Romania, which was focused on supporting prison staff working in high-pressure and complicated environments.

During the conference, the discussions will cover updates on current EPTA projects, key outcomes from the Special Interest Groups and interactive workshops. In the lead up to the conference, EPTA would like their members to share their experiences. The Network has therefore launched a call for paper on the following topics:

• Distance learning: the benefits and limitations of e-learning, videoconferencing, phone calls. This way EPTA members can share best practices to keep for future references and barriers that lowered the quality of the training process.
• Crisis Management: how to manage, organize and support training organizations/ staff during a crisis.

Members can submit a short paper by 29 June 2020 by using the EPTA Annual Conference 2020 Template. More information about the Call for Papers and the agenda of the Annual Conference can be found on the EPTA Annual Conference page, which will be updated with the latest news surrounding the conference.

The NHC supports the work of EPTA as part of its work to create a sustainable, professional and active EPTA network that is able to effectively tackle the gaps in cross-border cooperation. Together we share the view that correctional staff should receive adequate training to ensure that fundamental human rights of the prisoners are respected.