The three-day agenda was packed with theoretical insights and practical workshops designed to build a robust peer-mentoring framework.

The event began with a warm welcome from Aproximar and the Director of Leiria Youth Prison, Joana Patuleia. A key early session featured an online presentation by Peter De Cuyper of KU Leuven University, who shared the main findings from the project’s blueprint for a correctional staff mentoring scheme. This provided a crucial theoretical foundation for the practical sessions that followed.

The second day focused on real-world implementation. Dorin Muresan from our Romanian partner, Vis Juventum, led a session on coordinating mentoring programmes within the correctional environment. This was complemented by an open exchange where partners shared experiences from the national pilot programmes conducted under Work Package 3, discussing challenges, successes, and necessary adaptations.

Participants were also given a guided tour of the Leiria Youth Prison, offering a firsthand look at the environment where peer mentoring is being implemented in Portugal. The prison is designed for young adult inmates aged 16 to 21 (with the possibility of staying until 25), and as such, features significant investment in education and vocational training, including a dedicated school building and a vocational training pavilion.

The final day began with an insightful guest lecture on mental health in correctional environments by Ana Rita Pires from IPS: Innovative Prison Systems. A central theme was how to recognise and respond to signs of stress and burnout in colleagues. The subsequent discussions highlighted the critical role of leadership in fostering a supportive work environment through trust and clear guidelines, which directly contributes to reduced stress and greater overall job satisfaction.