The Third Transnational Project Management Meeting for the Eramsus+ project M4Pris (PEER MENTORING PROGRAMME FOR PRISON STAFF) took place on November 5, 2024, hosted by the Vice President of the Trade Union of Penitentiary Policement (SNPP), in the lovely city of Bucharest, Romania. The following are the project partners who were present at the meeting;  

• The Trade Union of Penitentiary Policement (SNPP)

• BrainLog (The project coordinator) 

• The Danish Prison Federation, Fængselsforbundet

• Approximar

• Athens Lifelong Learning Institute

• Asociatia Vis Juventum

During the meeting, the work packages were discussed as well as agreeing on the next steps, online meetings, and the setting of the dates for the future learning, training, and teaching activity (LTTA) in Portugal.  

A few milestones were completed:  

The Blueprint of Prison Staff Mentoring 

• The Blueprints are uploaded to the M4Pris website alongside the translations of them,  

• First drafts of the curriculums are available, and 

• Resources have been uploaded to the website. 

Peer Mentoring Program for Prison Staff 

• The project partner, Approximar has completed the platform and you can click HERE to explore it. 

• The platform includes course information, modules, quizzes, and much more. 

Training course for mentoring coordinators 

• The multimedia content is done and so are all the modules, 

• A draft of the coordinator profile has been created, and 

• The dates for the 3-day transnational training event in Portugal has been set.  

On the second day of the meeting, November 6^th the project partners were welcomed at Jilava Prison, located south of the city of Bucharest, where they were giving an extensive tour by the director of the penitentiary, Christina Teoroc, meeting both prison staff and inmates. As of December 2023, there are 1049 inmates at Jilava. 

The partners saw various departments of the prison and were welcomed inside the prison cells. Some of the inmates were proud to present their cells as they had decorated for Christmas. The inmates also have access to various creative crafts, such as string art and ceramics, as the walls of the prison were decorated with these.  

The partners were also introduced to a prison officer, who talked about how he used the tablet available and how many times he was required to count the inmates in his department – 4 times during his 8-hour shift. They were also showed how the inmates have access to request visitation and order things online on their computers located around the prison, using their ID cards. 

The tour extended to the old Jilava Prison, which first began as Fort 13, part of the fortifications of Bucharest, built in the 1870’s and 1880’s. The prison has been served as an arms deposit and garrison (up until 1907), a military prison (until 1948), and used under the communist regime (1948 – 1964). During the communist regime the prison held banned political parties, spies and members of anti-communist organizations, and they were held for several months awaiting trial. Back then 3,000 prisoners were the average number. Moving up to the new age, the old fort was used for storage after having protesters thrown in there during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Today it is considered a UNESCO historical site.  

BrainLog, together with The Danish Prison Federation, Fængselsforbundet, will proudly host the M4Pris Multiplier Event and the Final Conference in Denmark. Both events will offer participants a unique opportunity to explore all finalized project results and engage with innovative developments in correctional practices. With special participation from all project partners, these gatherings promise valuable insights and networking opportunities. Event dates will be announced soon—stay connected for more details!