The 5th Annual Restorative Justice Council Conference - Call for Abstracts

RESTORATIVE REFLECTIONS: A blueprint for a restorative future 

Monday 20^th and Tuesday 21^st November 2023

Online: Microsoft Teams

This year, the RJC celebrates its 25^th anniversary and, as such, it is a good time to acknowledge the sector’s achievements, face up to the present challenges and imagine future possibilities.

We believe that everyone should live in a truly restorative society. Within criminal justice this means empowering the people most affected by giving them the right to access restorative justice. But a restorative society is much more than that. We also need to focus on our communities, workplaces, schools, colleges, hospitals and, well, any institution that contains people.

Over the past 25 years the restorative sector has made significant strides, but we know that more can be done moving forward. This is why, during this year’s conference we want to explore what the future of restorative holds. Thus, the theme of the 5th annual RJC conference is ‘RESTORATIVE REFLECTIONS: A blueprint for a restorative future.’ 

This year, our conference sessions will focus on four conference themes:

1. The transformational power of restorative justice for adults and young people  
2. Creating a restorative ecosystem in our education system
3. Centring restorative practice in health and social care innovation
4. A blueprint for restorative community building 

Our first theme focuses on the transformation power of restorative justice within the criminal and youth justice sector. With ever growing political interest in restorative justice, we want to explore how this interest can be translated into a more restorative justice system. We are particularly interested in promoting the latest research which has the potential to transform policy making and showcasing innovative restorative projects that are impacting positively on adults and/or young people. 

This year we will also explore the role of restorative practice within our education system and the impact a restorative ecosystem can have across all aspects of a learning community. We understand the limitations, and indeed the negative impacts, of punitive approaches to managing behaviour and relationships across our education system. We know there is a growing desire to adopt an approach that prioritises social learning and stronger relationships, rather than one that seeks passive social conditioning through practices and systems of control and compliance; throughout our conference we will showcase what is working and what more needs to be done.

Evidence suggests that restorative practice is becoming more commonly implemented across the UK health and social care sectors however, this is not without its challenges. With health, the way in which practices are being implemented varies depending on the setting and/or the Trust’s interpretation of what ‘being restorative’ looks like in practice. Implementing restorative practice within social care is a new and emerging sector with high stakes and considerable social and financial benefits. This year, we want to explore how we can centre restorative practice in health and social care innovation. We would like to share examples of innovative restorative practice in action from across our health and social care sectors as well as disseminating the latest research which has the potential to transform future national policy.

Finally, the notion of creating restorative communities remains central to the RJC’s long term vision of a society where high-quality restorative practice is available to all which is why our final theme focuses on creating a blueprint for restorative community building. Our conference will provide a platform to share the latest thinking, developments and practical examples of community-based restorative practice from across the globe. We are particularly interested in learning about restorative programmes that are rooted in community values, promote community safety and respond to community needs.

Abstracts can be submitted for consideration in one of the following three session types that will run during the course of the two-day conference:

You can contribute to the programme of speakers by completing this online form with an abstract of no more than 500 words and indicating for which session type and conference theme you would like your work to be considered. All abstracts must be submitted in English.

The deadline for the call for abstracts is the 14^th July 2023.

All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by our communications committee and a decision will be communicated to applicants by the 21^st July 2023.

Where abstracts are accepted, the title, names and contact details of the presenters will be included in the final programme of the event.

For further information please email enquiries@restorativejustice.org.uk and a member of the team will get back to you.