Prisons: CNEL and Fondazione Cariplo sign agreement on training and rehabilitation for prisoners

Vocational training for the integration of prisoners into the world of work. This is the aim of the agreement signed by the CNEL and the Cariplo Foundation for the inclusion of people deprived of their liberty. With the memorandum of understanding signed today, Tuesday 27 October, by the respective presidents Renato Brunetta and Giovanni Azzone, the Cariplo Foundation joins the network of regional partners contributing to the development of the annual report ‘Zero Recidivism”, strengthening the link between research, knowledge of local circumstances and pathways reintegration programmes.

The agreement brings together two programmes: ‘Zero Recidivism: Education, Training and Work in and outside Prison’, which the CNEL has dedicated to the social and occupational reintegration of people subject to judicial measures, and ‘Limen – A Future Beyond Punishment’, Fondazione Cariplo’s ‘mandate challenge’ aimed at improving the living conditions of people serving prison sentences and supporting reintegration pathways upon release from prison.

‘Today in Italy, the recidivism rate exceeds 70 per cent. This is an alarming figure that highlights just how essential it is to invest in education, training and employment, both inside and outside prison. Because work is a social value, a factor of emancipation, justice and well-being for all”, commented Brunetta, adding that “the agreement with Fondazione Cariplo and the partnership with Limen strengthen this major social inclusion project, which brings together institutions, businesses, social partners, the third sector and foundations’, whilst also highlighting the role of foundations and intermediary bodies, and their ability to mobilise resources, skills and energy within local communities.

Azzone clarified that the agreement with the CNEL aims to ‘pool knowledge, skills and experience in order to develop more effective and sustainable pathways, capable of supporting people beyond their sentence and facilitating their meaningful reintegration into the community’. The parties will share data, analyses and research findings on prison work, vocational training and the integration of prisoners, those serving alternative sentences and ex-prisoners into the labour market. There are also plans to collaborate on training and work programmes within prisons, financial education, business culture and financial inclusion, aimed at those serving the final part of their sentence, those on community service and ex-prisoners.

Giuseppe Tango, president of the National Magistrates’ Association, spoke of a dramatic crisis in the prison system on the sidelines of the Justice Fair. “There is talk of overcrowding that has now become unacceptable, and an extremely high rate of suicides that has already been condemned by Europe,” he continued. ‘A rehabilitation programme that works within prisons enables former prisoners, once reintegrated into society, to avoid reoffending – as currently happens in 60–70 per cent of cases.’