What’s coming up in RJ Week 2025?
This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter.
We are fast approaching Restorative Justice Week, which starts on Sunday (16th of November). We have a jam-packed week ahead, with planned events, blogs, announcements and new content being released. In order to make sure you are prepared for the week, read on to see what is happening that you could get involved in.
Speaking on the theme
We will be commenting on this year’s theme of Restorative Justice as a human right, sharing testimonies from our Ambassadors about what the impact of a new human right would be. We will also circulate the European Forum for Restorative Justice’s manifesto on the topic, formulated in collaboration with restorative organisations across Europe.
Reaching people in prisons
Why me? have been preparing outreach in prisons to launch this Restorative Justice Week. This includes an article that we have written being circulated in Inside Time, the national newspaper for people in prisons. The article explores what Restorative Justice is and how it could benefit people in prison who have caused harm, or been harmed by someone else. It starts with: “Have you ever thought about meeting the person that you harmed? What about someone who has harmed you? Imagine they were sitting opposite you – what would you say?”
On top of the written piece, as part of our Damage and Repair: 20 years of Restorative Justice project we have been collaborating with National Prison Radio to share information via their in-prison radio station this Restorative Justice Week. We are circulating a series of radio adverts that share short clips of people who have been through the process talking about their experience, and encouraging the people in prison to consider if it would be right for them. We are also sharing an interview for their radio show ‘NPR Talks’, in which Keeva was interviewed about what Restorative Justice is and how it could help listeners.
Punch panel with Michael Palin and Calm Mediation
On Tuesday (18th), our Ambassador Nick will be appearing on a panel after the performance of the play Punch at the Apollo Theatre in the West End. This is part of the ‘After the Punch’ series, hosted by The Forgiveness Project. Nick will appear alongside actor Michael Palin and Calm Mediation’s Julie Clark to discuss the topic of ‘Facing the people we harm’. Nick will share his own experience of Restorative Justice where he met the man who murdered his identical twin brother and the conversation will dive into the following questions: What does it mean to take responsibility and accountability for harm? What are the factors that make this process possible? And in what ways can it support profound transformative change?
The voices of Restorative Justice
We will be hosting an event to launch our project Damage and Repair: 20 years of Restorative Justice. For the past year and a half, Why me? have been curating an archive of stories, recording 20 years of Restorative Justice in the UK. Through oral history interviews, we have gathered the experiences of a range of people who have been harmed by crime, people who have caused harm and professionals working in the sector. The collection will be archived in the British Library for decades to come, but this launch event will offer a chance to hear a selection of these powerful stories for the first time.
We will be joined by a panel of experts by experience from all sides of the restorative process.
Following this event, we will launch a snippet of each of the interviews we have conducted, so you can hear first-hand the range of experiences symbolising the journey of 20 years of restorative work in the UK. We will also be launching our third series of our podcast ‘Restorative Talks’, which deep dives into three of the stories collected for this project.
A new patron
We will be announcing a new patron next week – a champion of restorative work and promoting peacebuilding, they are a key player in the sector and we are delighted to welcome them on board. Watch this space for more details next week…
Amplifying the principles of Restorative Justice
We have written a short blog on the principles behind Restorative Justice, to help audiences in the wider criminal justice system and beyond to understand the values that the process relies upon. This will ultimately help to build awareness of Restorative Justice, and encourage more people to get involved. We are very happy for you to share and reproduce the blog on your own channels – read the blog ‘Repairing harm through the principles of Restorative Justice’ here.
How can you get involved?
Use the checklist below to see how you could be a part of this year’s Restorative Justice Week:
- Sign up to our event
- Write a social media post using #RJWeek, tag @whymeuk so we can amplify your messages!
- Watch and share our short film
- Share our blog on the principles of Restorative Justice with your audience
- Amplify some explainer content to help raise awareness (this could include resources like our ‘What is Restorative Justice?’ leaflet, our accessible animation or our FAQ page)
- Sign the right to be heard petition and share the campaign with your networks
- Make sure you submit all of your events and activities to the EFRJ’s interactive map
- Read our ‘How to communicate Restorative Justice effectively’ guide to help inform your communications for the week.
