Webinar: 'Read Your Way Out': How prison libraries promote the right to education in the Philippines
On 19 March 2025, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) will host the webinar, 'Read Your Way Out: How prison libraries promote the right to education in the Philippines'. The event is part of our global webinar series, 'Unlocking the power of lifelong learning', bringing together stakeholders from across the globe on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
The webinar will showcase the Read Your Way Out (RYWO) project, launched in 2022 by the Philippine Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project aims to reduce overcrowding and enhance access to libraries, books and reading in Philippine jails. People deprived of liberty (PDLs) who participate in the project through supervised reading activities, book clubs, group discussions and artistic interpretations of storybooks can now earn time allowances to facilitate their early release.
The project has seen the establishment of 13 new jail libraries with curated collections. It represents a significant shift in correctional philosophy, whereby jails are viewed as places not merely for confinement but also for education and self-improvement aimed at fostering reintegration.
Speaker
The webinar will feature a presentation by one of the project organizers, Mr Rafael Barreto Souza (UNODC). Following the presentation, participants will be invited to engage in a question and answer session. The webinar will be moderated by Ms Lisa Krolak, UIL (Germany) and Ms Jane Garner, Charles Sturt University (Australia).
Time
19 March 2025, 13.00–14.00 hours CET
Registration
https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xRCmcdu6Qw2y9HMSGwUh9g
Best wishes and hope to see you there,
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Clara Chu
Director and Mortenson Distinguished Professor
Mortenson Center, UIUC Library
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