IIRP Latin America, based in Costa Rica, is helping that country become a model of restorative practices in the areas of education and justice. And with more than 50 licensed restorative practices trainers in Latin America, IIRP's Representative for Latin America Claire de Mézerville López (left) with other presenters, including Magistrate Doris Arias Madrigal (second from right), at a recent eventthe organization is also influencing the growth and development of restorative practices throughout the region.

The IIRP’s new Representative for Latin America, Claire de Mézerville López, from San José, Costa Rica, comments, “We come from a

More than 70 practitioners from across Canada and the U.S. convened April 4-5, 2017, in Ottawa to converse about the future of restorative justice in that country. Hosted by IIRP Canada, the event used a restorative format to allow participants to interact and develop a list of themes that will guide progress of the movement.

IIRP Canada Director Bruce Schenk says the forum was all he hoped it would be. “It gave people a chance to listen to each other and engage in dialogue about their experience of restorative justice.” At the same time, participants explored “what a new more relationally based justice paradigm might be and what it will take to get there.”

"Two Native American judges reach back to traditional concepts of justice in order to reduce incarceration rates, foster greater safety for their communities and create a more positive future for their youth. By addressing the root causes of crime, they are providing models of restorative justice that are working. Mainstream courts across the country are taking notice."

Our friends at the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) are organizing their seventh biannual summer school July 24-28, 2017 at the monastery of St. Abbondio in Como, Italy, in partnership with the University of Insubria. This year’s theme is "Restorative justice in serious crime: Good quality standards and effective services." The topic has been chosen for its alignment with the EFRJ’s agenda in the coming years to ensure that every person in Europe has a right to access restorative justice services in any criminal case at any stage of the criminal process.

The Summer School 2017 will provide a safe and inspiring space for participants to gain knowledge and practice advanced skills to benefit victims and offenders. Events include presentations and practical exercises on the use of restorative justice in cases of

With over 400 restorative justice programs across the country, IIRP Canada aims to bring together leading practitioners to envision a new justice paradigm.

In this short video excerpt, IIRP Europe conference featured presenter Jo Berry briefly describes the importance of her 14-year friendship with Patrick Magee, a former member of the Irish Republican Army who claimed responsibility for planting a bomb that killed her father, a British Member of Parliament.

Inmates in Michigan prisons are studying and applying restorative practices in a growing effort to transform themselves, the Michigan corrections system, and their families and communities.

If you are a victim of crime or an offender, please participate in a survey to assist in the creation of a new Pan London Restorative Justice Service.

Judges, lawyers, youth workers and others in India, with training from longtime partners of the IIRP, look at ways to make systems more restorative.

In the past few years, we have seen the inequitable, negative impact of zero-tolerance policies on African American boys, in particular. These policies, however, have had a similarly harmful impact on African American girls.

In September, Monique Morris, Ed.D., author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016), participated in the White House Rethink Discipline conference. In October, Dr. Morris presented at Restoring Community: 21st IIRP World Conference in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Morris, who has been a scholar and social justice activist for over two decades, discussed the experience of African American girls in schools.

• Student Engagement Tools and Tips - Resources from the National Education Association
• Restorative Practices and Social-Emotional Learning Alignment - CASEL in collaboration with the IIRP
• Insights & evidence: The intersection of developmental relationships, equitable environments, and SEL - Search Institute

Facilitating Circles in the Classroom

• Circle Lesson Plan Guide
• Building Responsive & Inclusive Communities Report
• Start the Year With Restorative Practices (also available in Spanish and French)
• Using

• Learning Policy Institute: School Safety, Discipline, and Restorative Practices
  • Restorative Practices Find reports, briefs, webinars, and more regarding restorative practices' positive impact on behavior.
  • Redesigning High Schools: 10 Features for Success: This report highlights an evidence-based blueprint for redesigning high schools to create learning environments that are more humane, enriching, and productive featuring the work of the

In this video, Keisha Martinez, a music therapist and adjunct lecturer at the University of the West Indies, discusses what she enjoyed most in her classes at the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) Graduate School.

Michael J. Gilbert, Ph.D., is dedicated to changing society by bringing together professionals in the fields of restorative and community justice who seek to repair harm and relationships and restore the safety of communities.

He has been executive director of the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ) since its founding in 2013 and a professor of criminal justice for nearly 50 years. Now associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Dr. Gilbert has collaborated for more than 10 years to help build NACRJ, a national nonprofit membership association for those working to cultivate a more humane and effective alternative to the dominant, punitive paradigm in criminal justice and related fields. He will present on the NACRJ’s vision, “...

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Kay Pranis discusses a restorative process for how we can heal racial wounds based on an understanding victims' needs. Pranis is a peacemaking circles expert who was a featured presenter at the IIRP Latinoamérica's Conference this June.

In this guest blog, Professor John Braithwaite, who leads the Peacebuilding Compared project and is the founder of RegNet School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University, discusses the parallels between Motivational Interviewing and restorative practices and describes a framework for understanding why these approaches work.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, restorative dialogue process that supports people in identifying their goals and achieving positive changes in their lives. Practitioners in a wide range of settings — including juvenile justice, drug and alcohol recovery, health care, education and the workplace — are employing MI to help people discover for themselves what stops them from making progress, so they can move forward.

“It’s all about being authoritative without being judgmental,” says Dawn Schantz, Motivational Interviewing consultant for juvenile justice in the state of Pennsylvania. Instead of giving advice, in MI, the focus is on building rapport, then engaging people in conversations centered on identifying their own intrinsic reasons for wanting to live differently.

Dawn Schantz, Motivational Interviewing consultant for juvenile justice in the state of Pennsylvania, explains how the skill of motivational interviewing can simultaneously hold people to high expectations while also providing high support for helping them internalize their own motivations for change.

Whole-School Change: Cultivating School Communities that Thrive

Positive School Culture

Whole-School Change (formerly SaferSanerSchools) is a program that cultivates stronger relationships between students and staff to create a more positive school climate and communities that thrive.

Increased Equity

Restorative practices empowers a diversity of voices and reduces discipline disparities based on race and other factors.

Strong School Leadership

Our program teaches school leaders 21st century professional competencies to