International Day for Community Volunteers

On 16–17 June 2026, the CEP Expert Group on Communication and Awareness Raising met in Bristol, United Kingdom, for a face-to-face meeting. The meeting was hosted by Interventions Alliance and chaired by Michael Baker, Deputy Chief Executive and Lead for Research and Communications, who also leads the Expert Group. Suki Binning, Chief Executive Officer of Interventions Alliance, also joined parts of the programme and welcomed the group during the visit.

On 16 June 2026, CEP Secretary General Jana Spero Kamenjarin and Communications Officer Hannan Amnad visited Interventions Alliance in the United Kingdom. During the visit, they met with Suki Binning, Chief Executive Officer, Ellie MacCarter, Chief Officer for Operations, Graham Wines, Chief Officer – People and Professional Standards, and Michael Baker, Deputy Chief Executive and Lead for Research and Communications, who also serves as Chair of CEP’s Expert Group on Communication and Awareness-Raising.

This initiative is funded through the Erasmus+ project “Virtual Reality: A Tool in the Treatment of Offenders and Education of Probation Officers,” implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation of Croatia, ESC from Romania, and BeCure from Germany. It focuses on two main components: the development of VR content for offender rehabilitation programmes and VR-based training for probation officers.

The VR content is grounded in Core Correctional Skills and is designed to support both practical skill development and a rehabilitative approach. Virtual reality is introduced as an innovative complement to existing practice, enhancing offender treatment and professional training while supporting, rather than replacing, personal interaction.

On Thursday, 11 Jun 2026, CEP Secretary General Jana Špero Kamenjarin and Director of Yellow Ribbon Czechia Veronika Friebova confirmed its long-standing partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding which outlines their shared goals and areas of collaboration.

On 8 and 9 June 2026, CEP brought together practitioners, policymakers, researchers and partner organisations in Lisbon for two important meetings focused on strengthening the probation response to gender-based violence across Europe.

For a new expert group starting in 2026 we are looking for 8 experts (4 from CEP, 4 from EuroPris) interested to join the Joint Expert Group on Prison Overcrowding and Probation Netwidening run in cooperation between CEP and EuroPris.