FREE TO CODE: improving digital and coding skills for inmates Erasmus Project

Project Title

FREE TO CODE: improving digital and coding skills for inmates

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Access for disadvantaged; Recognition (non-formal and informal learning/credits)

Project Summary

The FREE to CODE project had the ambitious goal of using digital skills and computer programming as a means of human development that can help adult European prisoners to re-enter society.

1. CONTEXTS
Although significant progress was reported in Europe on the digitalization agenda, different disadvantaged groups were excluded from it due to some structural or personal obstacles. This project aims at bringing prisoners and former prisoners closer to the labour market by developing in them coding and other relevant soft skills. This aim was achieved by developing a responsive and interactive training platform that can work also in closed institutions such as prisons.

2. OBJECTIVES
The project was aiming at the following objectives:
General:
– The project intended to develop an innovative training programme on coding for learners detained (men, at least graduated and with a short-time sentence, to prepare them to be reintegrated into the society), with the aim to favour the development of their digital skills and in turn their transversal skills, particularly problem-solving.
Specific:
– The project aimed at transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications; application of the European recommendations to validate the non-formal and informal learning with the improvement of their digital and programming skills in an informal and formal learning environment,
– Applying the methodology of the European recommendations to validate the non-formal and informal learning to adult education into social assistance fields.

Both objectives were achieved. The training programme on coding was created, piloted, evaluated and adjusted. There is now basic training on coding available for the prison systems around Europe. There are manuals available for this training in English, Romanian, French, Greek, Italian and Portuguese.
The programme was built taking into account the European principles for identifying and validating non-formal and informal learning adopted by the European Council in 2004.
Partners have agreed on the learning outcomes and stakeholders involved in the process of validation were involved in the multiplication events and expressed positive views on the programme.

3. PARTICIPANTS-NUMBER-PROFILE
The participants in the project were divided into two main categories: direct beneficiaries and indirect beneficiaries.
Direct beneficiaries – prisoners, former prisoners and other disadvantaged people with similar profile – 162 direct participants took part in the survey or benefited from the training programme.
Indirect beneficiaries – were the stakeholders (those interested in the programme – education agencies, labour agencies, local authorities, prisons etc.) and the community (NGOs) who participated in the multiplication events – 229 participants.
The indirect beneficiaries were also informed about the project activities and results through the dissemination activities were approx. 10.000 people were involved.

4. ACTIVITIES
Almost all activities were performed as they were planned. However, due to the pandemic, most prisons were closed in Europe for the non-essential staff.
Therefore, the project had to adapt its activities in order to achieve its aim and objectives.
The main activities were: conduct national evaluations to identify the training needs and trainees expectations, design a training plan (taking into account the European standards for informal and non-formal validation), develop a training platform, pilot it and evaluate it and refine it.

5. RESULTS AND IMPACT
The main result of the project is the use of an online training tool in the prison field. This project is one of the first ones that contribute to the opening of the prison system towards the online platform. The training platform created under this project helps prisoners better prepare for the new economy where digital and computational skills are crucial. Following the guidelines of the European Framework for validating non-formal and informal learning, the project is easily scalable across Europe in prison and alike institutions.

6. LONG-TERM BENEFITS
The project is an example of how prisons can use the online platform to enhance education. We can expect the use of this environment to be expanded in the near future towards other sections of prison life: vocational training, job searching, visits and so on.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 194000,2 Eur

Project Coordinator

European Strategies Consulting & Country: RO

Project Partners

• APROXIMAR- COOPERATIVA DE SOLIDARIEDADE SOCIAL, CRL
• PENITENCIARUL BUCURESTI JILAVA
• AVACA TECHNOLOGIES CONSULTING, INFORMATICS AE
• BeCode
• Asturia vzw
• European Digital Learning Network