A particular focus of the EU and Council of Europe joint support in North Macedonia is to assist public authorities in enhancing the prison reform, as well as the protection of prisoners’ human rights. In this framework, a group of experienced representatives from the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions (DES), probation offices, and various penitentiary institutions designed the final draft of the Prison Staff Training Strategy and a relevant Programme. During the meeting, they addressed the practical aspects of implementing the Training Programme, which will increase the skills of prison staff. These documents set the basis for a regular induction and continuous capacity building aimed at ensuring structured training for the penitentiary system and increasing the overall quality of work of the prison staff.

In addition, fifteen prison and probation professionals increased their presentation skills through a workshop organised in Skopje on 28-29 September. The group learned about the phases of a training plan, various approaches to adult learning, writing plans and structuring presentations, evaluating results; they also received practical advice on dos and don’ts. This group of trainers forms the core team of the Prison Training Centre, which has been supported through the Horizontal Facility for the past two years.

The sessions were conducted in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme ”Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action on “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system in North Macedonia”.