CJA Members Meeting and Launch of the Incarceration Nations Network

On 29 November, the CJA hosted its latest Members Meeting featuring Dr. Baz Dreisinger in conversation with Afua Hirsch, launching the Incarceration Nations Network (INN). Dr. Dreisinger is a Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York; Author of Incarceration Nations; Founder of John Jay’s Prison-to-College Pipeline programme and a Global Fulbright Scholar for her work promoting restorative justice and higher education in prisons internationally. A transcript of the conversation is available here.

INN is a global network working to reduce mass incarceration, build safer communities and reduce recidivism. The network will enable organisations to collaborate and learn from each other’s innovative practice.  It offers a wide-reaching international platform to those directly impacted by the justice system to lead the movement for its reform. INN also aims to globally change the narrative about prisons and the people in them.

We also heard from a panel chaired by Darren Coyne, Project Manager, The Care Leavers’ Association, featuring Mike Trace, CEO, The Forward Trust, Andy Jackson, Recovery Support Team Leader, The Forward Trust, Baljeet Sandhu, Author of ‘The Value of Lived Experience in Social Change’ and ‘Lived Experience Leadership: Rebooting the DNA of Leadership’ to discuss the launch of Change from Within. 

There was a performance from Brenda Birungi, Founder of Unchained Poetry and Straightline Prison Radio host, who also participated in a panel chaired by Danny Shaw, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent and CJA Media Awards Judge, discussing ‘How can we change the narrative about criminal justice issues?’, featuring Jodie Jackson, Constructive Journalism Project & Author of ‘You are what you read’, Mat Ilic, Chief Development Officer at Catch22 & Former Special Adviser at No.10, Lib Peck, Director, London Violence Reduction Unit, Enver Solomon, CEO Just for Kids Law and former BBC journalist.

Credit: Jessica Bernard