JUST CLOSER | | Movimento Globale per i Diritti dell’Infanzia

Activities

Through integrated and comprehensive activities, the project JUST CLOSER aims at supporting children to express their doubts and complaints, request information, claim their rights freely and receive adequate support (right to information, right to be heard, right to address complaints). JUST CLOSER seeks to provide a space where children and youth can build a safer and more harmonious path from the justice system, create spaces to receive, reflect on and activate youth’s ideas and the EU acquis in criminal proceedings, foster cooperation among youth justice professionals, strengthen cooperation with European stakeholders, and contribute to the harmonization of legislation and practices across Member States.

In particular, activities include:

Establish a group of Youth Leaders (YT&A) composed of young people with experience in the penal system who act as researchers, trainers and role models for other young people. This group will be involved in the following activities:

1. Accompanied by senior staff members, the YT&A team will conduct a series of consultations with young people and adolescents involved in criminal proceedings to gather their perspectives on the implementation of EU directives. This will be done through various participatory and youth-led research methods such as interviews, creative workshops, focus groups, etc.
2. At the same time, this group will act as a peer support group for young people involved in criminal proceedings to better understand their rights and the juvenile justice system - its strengths and weaknesses - and to recognise certain relevant safeguards.
3. As part of these activities, the voices, perspectives and messages of children and young people will be shared through podcasts.
4. In WP3, YT&A will be involved in training professionals in the justice sector, stimulating their reasoning on the practical implementation of children’s rights, discussing the elements that characterise a "juvenile-friendly justice system", and identifying together the main gaps and possible proposals that could improve the juvenile justice system. Some professionals will become voluntary "ambassadors" of the project, interviewed for their testimonials in short videos/podcasts to be disseminated widely.

The YT&A group will be adequately financially supported to ensure effective and professional participation.

Other activities include the training of professionals, the creation of national and European reports and the development of a Guide to Good Practice on Directive 2016/800 (containing the Letter of Rights ): The Guide covers areas of good practices where professional action is required to guarantee the child’s human rights and wellbeing. The Letter will target children involved in criminal proceedings to inform them about their rights, in compliance with Art. 4 of Directive 2016/800.