Virtual reality in prisons to provide employable skills

Folsom Freedom', the initiative resulting from the collaboration between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Merit with Dive Srl, with the participation of Ferrovie dello Stato, was presented today at Palazzo Chigi. The project introduces technical training in Italian prisons through virtual reality, with the aim of providing skills that are immediately spendable in the labour market. After a months-long co-design phase, the programme was successfully tested in the penitentiary institutes of Genoa, Taranto and Civitavecchia, involving selected groups of inmates in immersive technical training courses, from the simulation of the assembly of electrical panels to the management of computer components within high-fidelity virtual environments.

During the press conference attended by Michelangelo Mochi, CEO of Dive, Tommaso Tanzilli, President of the FS Group, Maurizio Marchesini, Vice-President of Confindustria, Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education and Merit, and Carlo Nordio, Minister of Justice, the results of the project were presented, which showed high learning rates, strong motivation, reduction of psychological barriers, growth of professional skills, and also a general improvement in the emotional well-being of the inmates involved. These are all elements that confirm the potential of an innovative re-educational model, which is customised and really oriented towards reintegration into work.

"The Folsom project has demonstrated in the pilots in Taranto, Genoa and Civitavecchia that immersive training can become a concrete motivation engine. When people see and try out new skills in VR, learning becomes a real opportunity again, and the results presented today confirm that virtual reality can accelerate paths to reintegration that are now more necessary than ever. I would like to thank Ministers Nordio and Valditara for personally attending and a special thought goes to our founder, who passed away a year ago and who conceived the project,' said Michelangelo Mochi, CEO of Dive.

"Today we have presented a project that, for us in the FS Group, has a profound value because it combines innovation, inclusion and strategic vision". In his speech, FS Group chairman Tommaso Tanzilli emphasised how FS Italiane had supported the development of the 'Folsom Freedom - Immersive Training for the Re-integration of Prisoners' project with conviction, starting from a dual awareness: "on the one hand, the responsibility - we can say the mission - of contributing to social sustainability, favouring the meeting between people who, at the end of their sentence, would find it difficult to find stable employment and Italian companies which, more and more often, find it difficult to find adequately trained workers".

The pilot phase, which has been positively evaluated in all the institutions involved, now opens the way to the design of a shared national platform, capable of networking prisons, schools and training providers. By simplifying governance and ensuring common standards of application, the aim is to gradually reach a growing number of inmates, offering vocational training courses that are consistent with the needs of businesses and today's society. Folsom Freedom represents an innovative model of transformative justice, in which immersive technology, public policies and social responsibility are combined to build a safer and more inclusive society.
Dive srl is an Italian company leader in the development of immersive experiences based on new technologies, active for over twenty years in the creation of high-impact solutions for culture, tourism, and education, it builds digital ecosystems that make learning more engaging, accessible and personalised, overcoming educational, physical and social barriers.