Presentation to school team trainee’s (23rd of March)
On the 23rd of March Dr. Yıldız Yalçınlar Halk Eğitimi Merkez held a meeting on the projects objectives and results published to new trainees who will be joining the school’s teams. 16 participants where able to gain an insight into the project and its applicability to adult education. In addition a project board was prepared to display at the school.
Presentation to justice professionals (23rd of February)
On the 23rd of February 2026, our partner Linc hosted a training session for italianjustice professional, where they explained the use of story telling as a tool for velues education for prople in prison.
Stories4Wings featured in the Anna Lindh Foundation newsletter (January 2026)
The project was featured in the January 2026 edition of the Anna Lindh’s Foundation newsletter. The article delved deeper into the project’s objectives and tools as wellas its presentation within the 9th EPEA Conference – Let’s Talk celebrated in Skopje in November.
Launch of the Stories4Wings EPALE research group
Partners created a community of practice group on the EPALE platform in order to exchange best practices with other European educators and address how storytelling can be a powerful tool to educate people in prison due to its versality, capacity to engage and connect and accessibility.
We are pleased to announce that Stories 4 Wings was featured during the EPALE Focus Week: Basic Skills in Innovative Learning Environments on December 4. This thematic EPALE campaign showcases effective practices across Europe related to the development of adult learning programs that focus on acquiring basic skills.
Read the article in EPALE:
Epale focus week (4th December 2025)
Presentation of Stories 4 Wings in 19th Conference of the EPEA (Skopje, North Macedonia).
On the 13th of November 2025, AIFED and Avanzo vzw had the pleasure of presenting the objectives and results of Stories 4 Wings during the 19th Conference of the European Prison Education Association (EPEA) in Skopje (North Macedonia). This event was attended by 130 in-prison educators who gained an insight into the storytelling value-based Methodology of Stories for Wings for prison education. We thank the EPEA and Thomas Whütrich and Ana Ferrando for their excellent job.
On October 15th, AVANZO took part in an inspiring study day on storytelling in prison education, organised by Klasbak in collaboration with EPALE.
During this event, storytelling was explored as a pedagogical and social tool to engage with values, skills and competences for adults in prison in the context of the Stories for Wings project. Stories were explored as a vehicle for reflection and a bridge between adults in prison and society.
The highlights of this study day were: Presentation of the Stories 4 Wings project by Ana FerrandoWorkshop by Fred Versonnen on the power of storytellingPresentation by Serge Rooman featuring a diptych — words and images — about life inside Merksplas prisonWorkshop by Wim Ipers on prison theatre and the Theatre of the Oppressed
ErasmusDays Event
As part of the annual ErasmusDays celebration, our partners Dr. Yıldız Yalçınlar Halk Eğitimi Merkez celebrated a promotional and dissemination event was successfully for trainees in their school's meeting hall. The event focused on highlighting the Erasmus+ Program and specifically the project Stories for Wings. To engage participants and test their knowledge, a quiz was conducted on both the general Erasmus programs and the specific Stories for Wings project details. The session concluded with five participants receiving gifts, serving as a reminder of the day's importance and the spirit of the program. Furthermore, a dedicated virtual exhibition for the Stories for Wings Project was prepared and presented as an integral part of this dissemination event:
Presentation to Ankara Provincial Public Education Center
On September 17, Sincan Dr. Yıldız Yalçınlar Halk Eğitimi Merkezi hosted the directors of the Ankara Provincial Public Education Centers at our institution. During the meeting, they informed the participants about the project, its summary, objectives, outcomes, partners, and target groups.
In addition to the directors of the Public Education Centers, the Lifelong Learning Branch Directors from the Ankara Provincial and Sincan District National Education Directorates also attended the meeting.
Serge Rooman's Article
On the 5th of June, our colleage, Serge Rooman, director of the prision of Merksplas published an article titled Onderwijs in de cel is geen luxe: laat het gratis blijven (“Prison education is not a luxury: let’s leave free” ) on the Belgian magazine Knack. In this article he addressed the need for prison education to remain free in the Netherlands as it is the most economic way to promote long term reincorporation to normal life.
On the 15th of May, our partner Avanzo presented our project in Campus Corso in Leuven. This event, was an oportunity to offer an overview of the project, an introduction to the eight core values that guide our mission, and a presentation to Belgian CSOs, including the collaboration with Klasbak.
Flipbook of 8 Values
If you are wondering how stories can improve education in a prison setting, this Flipbook is a perfect short introduction to explain how we can do it with 8 values applied to our stories, which is aimed to inspire in a natural way and therefore motivate prisoners to learn and engage in education.
A night of art and stories!
Ana Ferrando, Eddy Meijs and Serge Rooman presented Eddy’s work and their collaboration in the book Penitentiaire Diptieken at Photo Café Delezze.It was a wonderful evening full of inspiration and captivating stories behind the photos. And one of these photos and its story will be featured in our project Stories4Wings!
Presentation of the Erasmus+ Project Stories4Wings on EPALE
Our colleague Ana Ferrando, from AVANZO, has published a post introducing the Stories4Wings project—Transforming Lives by Storytelling—on the EPALE platform. The article outlines the project’s aims and activities, which focus on using storytelling as a tool for supporting the social reintegration of inmates.
By raising awareness of this initiative, the article invites adult educators from across Europe to explore new, impactful methodologies for prison education.
📖 Read it at: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/content/stories4wings-erasmus-project-transforming-lives-storytelling
Article Published by Ahmad Mohamad on EPALE: "Allegory of the Cave Through the Prison"
Our colleague, Ahmad Mohamad, intern at AIFED, explores a powerful and thought-provoking connection between Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the experience of incarceration in his newly published article, "Allegory of the Cave Through the Prison". Drawing on classical philosophy, the piece reflects on how prison life can mirror the cave in Plato’s allegory—and what this means for how society prepares inmates for reintegration.
The article calls on adult educators across Europe to rethink the way education is delivered in prisons, emphasising the role of enlightenment, rehabilitation, and support in helping inmates transition back into society as informed, empowered citizens.
📖 Read the full article on EPALE:
https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/allegory-cave-through-prison