Achievements and aspirations take centre stage at RJC AGM 2015

The room was full of enthusiasm and expertise at this year’s AGM and annual conference, which was open to both RJC members and non-members. Over 130 delegates, members and RJC staff came together on Wednesday 18 November, to celebrate achievements in the field and create a collective vision for the future of restorative justice.

The event was lively with contributions, aspirations and ideas from speakers and attendees. Awards were presented to 24 restorative practitioners who achieved accreditation, the 10 organisations that were awarded the Restorative Service Quality Mark, and the 13 organisations that were approved through the RJC’s recently launched Training Approval Scheme. You can read more about the awardees here.

Feedback from the day was very positive, with one delegate saying: “Really successful day. Well done RJC. My highlight was sharing space and ideas with restorative colleagues known and new.” Discussing a vision for the future, everyone present agreed that more needed to be done to raise awareness, to ensure restorative justice is available for all, and to work collaboratively to improve access and working processes.

The Ministry of Justice’s director of criminal justice policy, Stephen Muers, supported the event with a positive speech and took questions from delegates. He was followed by Roger Graef OBE, who shared some inspiring real life stories from his documentary work.

An afternoon panel discussion covered restorative justice developments in education, health, with minorities and collaborative partnership working. One delegate said: “It was great to hear from different areas that use restorative justice, see different perspectives.”

A special surprise on the day came in the form of a video message from Howard Zehr, often known as the ‘grandfather’ of restorative justice, who highlighted his vision for the future. The RJC would like to thank everyone who took part in the day and who continue to support our work.