A Mente Libera: workshop
As part of the A Mente Libera project, StraLi held a workshop at the University of Turin on the protection of mental health in prisons.
As part of the A Mente Libera project, supported by Project System, we organized a workshop for law and psychology students at the University of Turin who had taken the Prison Law course. Participants not only enhanced their knowledge of the mechanisms protecting mental health in prison under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but also had the opportunity to present a Rule 9 communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe alongside StraLi.
Project System is a fund supporting activism launched by The Good Lobby, in collaboration with Anya Capital, and developed with the Italian Foundation for Giving. The fund aims to support organizations and groups in Italy that promote ideas for systemic change, meaning they act to address the root causes of societal problems with a structural approach.
StraLi is grateful to be one of the Italian NGOs selected by Project System as a driver of change, through the tool that distinguishes us: strategic litigation.
In line with the goals and objectives of the Project System fund, StraLi’s A Mente Libera project was carried out on three levels:
- The defense of the right to mental health in prison through strategic litigation in national, European, and international courts, which also includes creating a network of professionals and experts in the field.
- Raising awareness within civil society, with a focus on engaging younger generations about the importance of protecting detainees, in light of Italy’s well-known shortcomings in this area and others.
- Advocacy and positive lobbying efforts to achieve the necessary changes, first for the individuals we aim to protect directly, and consequently for society as a whole.
The workshop addressed the second objective of the project, using the learning by doing methodology, which allowed participants to actively engage in the strategic litigation efforts underway.