EU Project Pravo-Justice supported the First All-Ukrainian Forum of Probation Volunteers "Agents of Change: Power of Those Who Care"

On 18 December, the First All-Ukrainian Forum of Probation Volunteers "Agents of Change: Power of Those Who Care" took place. EU Project Pravo-Justice and the State Institution "Probation Centre" organised the event. It gathered representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the State Institution "Probation Centre", the National Police of Ukraine, international experts, NGOs and probation volunteers from all over the country. The Forum focused on the importance of volunteers in re-socialising probation clients, the challenges of volunteering, and drawing public attention to the role of volunteers in keeping communities and society safe by providing support to convicts.

"The probation system is an important part of the Strategy for Reforming the Penitentiary System until 2026, which was approved by the Government and is currently implemented by the Ministry of Justice. Without further developing it, promoting the volunteer movement and creating conditions to increase the number of voluntary probation assistants, it is impossible to humanise the criminal justice system in Ukraine," said Yevhen Pikalov, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine. He added that events like the Forum facilitate sharing experiences, discussing best practices, and strengthening partnerships between the state and the communities.

Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice, stressed that developing probation in Ukraine is particularly important in the context of European integration processes. The key goal is to adapt the national legal system to European standards of protecting human rights and strengthening the rule of law, as well as social security.

"European countries have long proven that the volunteer movement in probation is effective, ranging from the United Kingdom, where the first voluntary carers first appeared in the nineteenth century, to modern Scandinavian countries, where volunteers are an integral part of the probation system. It is encouraging to state that Ukraine is actively drawing on this experience. Thanks to the support of our Project and others, the volunteer network in Ukraine is constantly expanding, involving active and committed citizens in working with offenders," said Oksana Tsymbrivska.

In turn, Iryna Zharonkina, Enforcement and Property Rights Protection Component Lead of EU Project Pravo-Justice, spoke about the role the Project plays in developing volunteering in Ukraine. It includes supporting the development of approaches to interaction between the probation service and volunteers, elaboration of a concept for developing volunteering, a communication strategy, and designing training curricula for volunteers.

"International experience shows that volunteering is effective in reducing recidivism, improving the social reintegration of convicts, improving the implementation of probation programmes, improving the mental health and well-being of people on probation, and strengthening the level of trust in communities," said Iryna Zharonkina.

Oleh Yanchuk, Director of the Probation Centre, presented the key achievements of probation in 2024 and outlined the activities of volunteers in probation.

"Probation volunteers are people coming from different age groups and professions: doctors, psychologists, lawyers, activists and young people who understand that their work is important for keeping their communities safe. They help convicts find jobs, fill out documents, and provide legal and psychological counselling. In October 2024 alone, the volunteers conducted 850 interventions, reaching 1,829 people. These included social and educational programmes, psychological and legal counselling," said Oleh Yanchuk.

The Forum featured awards for the most successful probation volunteers in the nominations "Years of Partnership and Joint Victories", "Inspiring Achievements", "Support in Times of Trouble" and others.

"It is much more effective to prevent a problem than deal with the consequences. That is why working with probation clients willing to change is so important. After all, when a person wants to improve his or her life, they will achieve the results in no time," said Petro Ustymchuk, a volunteer who won the nomination "Support in Times of Trouble".

The event also featured discussion panels on the challenges and opportunities faced by volunteering in probation, and created a draft roadmap for its development in the coming years.