NAME OF THE PROJECT
Hi-tech prisoners
THE PROJECT :
The project carried out in Santa Bona Prison, in Treviso was launched in a difficult context, where potentials are often neglected. The Centri Territoriali Permanenti (CPT) are centres where prisoners who are in prison because of minor crimes can be re–educated and trained.
The aim of these centres is to provide training and literacy courses to prisoners, by developing skill that might enable them to find a job when they leave the prison.
Informatici Senza Frontiere, ATON and Alternativa Cooperativa Sociale, launched a very important project in October 2007 together with the teachers of “Treviso 2” CPT centre.
The project involves the organization of some computer courses that are carried out inside the prison and integrate the courses already present in CPT curricula. Some groups of prisoners regularly attend the courses, and they can use the PCs thanks to a computer system which has been installed inside the prison.
At a later stage a small computer lab was realized inside the prison where prisoners can learn how to repair hardware and computer components. In this lab they repair PCs coming from outside the prison.
The work in the lab allows prisoners to develop specific professional skills that could help them to reintegrate into society.
By means of practical and theoretical education ISF’s project give the prisoners the possibility to acquire experience which could be useful for their future.
The main objective of this project is to make detention productive and to help prisoners to rehabilitate through the acquisition of professional skills. This is a realistic objective given the activities they normally carry out in the lab. The prisoners are paid for their work, they can make the most of the time they spend in prison and they can acquire high–level skills, which are valued in the labour market.
More than 2100 PCs have been repaired so far in the lab, at an average of 30 per week.
The prison staff involved in the project seems motivated and skilful. Having the opportunity to work is particularly important for prisoners both because they can receive some money and because the will have more rehabilitation chances.