We are launching a new Polish–Italian project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme. Together with the Italian organisation CCO – Crisi come Opportunità, we will develop and test ways of using theatre and stand-up in work with people in prison to support their preparation for life after release.

The project is based on the belief that culture can be a powerful tool for education, personal development and building relationships. For many years, we have organised theatre, creative writing and arts workshops in prisons across Poland. Our Italian partner has extensive experience in using theatre and performance as educational tools in work with people deprived of liberty and young people. Through Erasmus+, we will bring together the experience of both organisations and develop new approaches to this work.

The heart of the project will be the International Methods Laboratory, where Polish and Italian educators will exchange experience, observe each other’s practice and jointly develop workshop methods based on theatre, improvisation and stand-up. These approaches will then be tested during pilot activities carried out in both Poland and Italy.

The project includes two international meetings – the first in Warsaw in September and the second in Sardinia in February. Between these meetings, both partners will run pilot workshops, evaluate the results and further refine the methods developed during the collaboration.

One of the main outcomes of the project will be a practical Toolkit for educators and practitioners working in prisons. It will include tested workshop methods, practical exercises and recommendations based on the experience of both partners. The publication will be freely available to organisations, institutions and everyone interested in using culture to support the social reintegration of people in prison.

The project is implemented together with CCO – Crisi come Opportunità within the framework of the Erasmus+ Small-scale Partnerships in Adult Education (KA210-ADU). We hope that the methods developed during this collaboration will be useful not only in Poland and Italy, but also in other countries interested in strengthening cultural education in prisons.

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency Programme Erasmus + and European Solidarity Corps. Neither the European Union nor the grantors can be held responsible for them.

Fundacja Dom Kultury has received Erasmus+ KA122-ADU funding for the project “Learning to Teach Better.” In autumn 2026, a four-member team from the Foundation will travel to Dublin to take part in a job shadowing programme organised by Education Services to Prisons, a division of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) responsible for education in Irish prisons. The mobility aims to provide first-hand insight into the Irish prison education system and create opportunities to exchange experience with professionals responsible for the education of people in custody.

Since 2011, Fundacja Dom Kultury has been delivering educational programmes in Polish prisons. We organise creative writing, journalism, theatre, music and visual arts workshops, publish the “W Kratkę” magazine, run the eWKratke.pl blog, and are developing an online Information Hub for people in prison and their families. Taking part in Erasmus+ gives us the opportunity to explore solutions used in another European prison education system and to exchange experience with Irish prison educators.

During the job shadowing mobility, we will observe the work of professionals responsible for prison education in Ireland. We are particularly interested in learning more about how the system is organised, the role of education in social reintegration, and the cooperation between prison services, teachers and external organisations. We also hope to explore how educational needs are assessed, how learning programmes are planned, and how educational opportunities are tailored to the diverse needs of learners.

Another area we will focus on is the way information is prepared and shared with people in prison and their families. This is especially relevant to our work, as we are currently developing an online Information Hub that provides clear and accessible information about imprisonment and the Polish prison system. The experience gained in Ireland will support the further development of this initiative.

We will share updates on the preparations, the job shadowing visit itself and its outcomes on our website and social media channels.

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency Programme Erasmus + and European Solidarity Corps. Neither the European Union nor the grantors can be held responsible for them.