Skip to content
Back to news

News

Second World Congress for Community Volunteers supporting offender reintegration

The Second World Congress for Community Volunteers (WCCV) builds on the 1st World Congress for Community Volunteers held as part of the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in Kyoto, Japan, in 2021. Inspired by the powerful contribution of volunteer Hogoshi in Japan, this Second World Congress for Community Volunteers Supporting Offender Reintegration (the 2nd WCCV) aims to showcase, explore, and advance the work of volunteers around the world.

 

Led by the Rehabilitation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Japan, with a welcome keynote by CEP Ambassador Steve Pitts, Dr. Frank Porporino will moderate an interactive panel-audience discussion on 17 April, during the 6th World Congress (16-18 April), in The Hague (Registration deadline 1st March, Last few days to register!). The event will bring together speakers from countries and regions as diverse as Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Canada, the USA, Kenya, and Europe. The panel will share examples of the many varied and important roles undertaken by volunteers who provide a bridge between statutory services and communities, help “demystify” probation and parole work, and fulfil the vital task of engaging community support in reintegration. Volunteers work as good neighbours to support desistance and human potential and ultimately help build safer societies.

The 2nd WCCV will focus sharply on the needs of volunteers and how we can more strongly support them. Those needs include training and recognition, managing challenges involved in recruiting and sustaining volunteers, in developing and disseminating their work, and in cultivating further public understanding and engagement in reintegration. The panel of distinguished speakers will include:

  • Mr. Shoji IMAFUKU Japan
  • Mr. Clement Okech – Kenya
  • Ms. Karen LEE – Singapore
  • Mr. Ruangsak Suwaree – Thailand
  • Dr. Andrew Watson – UK
  • Ms. Diane Williams – USA
  • (Speaker TBC) – Netherlands
  • (Speaker TBC) – Canada

To encourage and recognise volunteers worldwide, the 2nd WCCV will propose a Declaration to establish an annual volunteer day to help foster, extend, and sustain the role and contribution of community volunteers globally.

the 2nd WCCV is also aligned with the goals of the CoPPer project, which aims to promote the active engagement of citizens, civil society, and social partners in the social inclusion of people who commit crimes. The CoPPer project seeks to ensure that we all play our role as key guarantors of a common European culture of rule of law, common values, democracy, freedom, security, and prosperity. to learn more about CoPPer, go to the website and one of CEP’s projects.

Related News

Keep up to date with the latest developments, stories, and updates on probation from across Europe and beyond. Find relevant news and insights shaping the field today.

New

CEP

CEP and Catalan justice leaders reaffirm longstanding cooperation

29/09/2026

Representatives of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) met with senior officials from the Catalan Department of Justice and Democratic Quality in Barcelona on 28 September 2026, alongside the opening of the sixth International Training School on Core Correctional Skills. The meeting offered an opportunity to recognise a longstanding partnership and discuss its continued development.

Updated

Uncategorized

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Call for Pilot Implementation of the European Mental Health Training Curriculum

29/09/2026

Good news for CEP members! Following requests from our members, CEP has extended the deadline to apply for the pilot implementation of the European Mental Health Training Curriculum for Probation Officers.

Recap

ITSCCS, Technology

6th International Training School opens in Barcelona with a focus on digital probation

28/09/2026

How can probation professionals use new technologies in their interactions while building trust, showing empathy and supporting change? This question is at the heart of the sixth International Training School on Core Correctional Skills, which opened in Barcelona on 28 September 2026.

Recap

Probation in Europe

CEP at 42nd PC-CP Working Group Meeting

23/09/2026

The Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) Working Group held its 42nd meeting from 15–17 September 2026 in Strasbourg. CEP was represented by Secretary General Jana Špero Kamenjarin.

New

Probation in Europe

New Division episode: Bernd Kammermeier on Supervision of Conduct

23/09/2026

The 22nd episode of Division_Y features Bernd Kammermeier from Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Bernd is a unionist, practitioner and academic expert on supervision of conduct (Führungsaufsicht) in Germany. His recent PhD thesis examines the development and legal framework of this important instrument.

Recap

CEP

CEP at Kick-off Meeting for the 2026 Operating and Action Grants

22/09/2026

On 16 and 17 October, the Project and Policy Officers of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) organised the Kick-off Meeting for the 2026 Operating and Action Grants. Opened with a video message from Commissioner McGrath, the meeting covered a range of topics related to project management, including reporting requirements and horizontal priorities such as gender mainstreaming, EU values, and the EU survey. Last but not least, participants were presented with the future developments of AgoraEU and the Justice Programmes under the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) starting in 2028. 

Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!

  • Keep up to date with important probation developments and insights.