A European project learning inmates how to “fly”

Nevertheless, prisoners are citizens, who, sooner or later, are meant to reintegrate society. Facilitating their reinsertion addresses issues of respect of democracy, inclusion, freedom, and society.

That is what the project Stories4Wings is about: educating adults in prison using the power of stories to help them develop key skills for reinsertion.

There is a wide scientific consensus that prison education is vital for the resocialization of prisoners. However, prisoners are often marginalized in their access to education because of the difficult implementations of training, and because of the lack of previous education they might bear.

That is the innovation of Stories4Wings, a project part of the Erasmus+ program “Stories that Sew Wings” and co-funded by the European Union.

By using story-based methodology instead of traditional teaching, educators let fresh air enter for inmates to develop social and emotional skills, foster empathy, and reflect on their own emotions.

This method also appears to be more motivational and inspirational, addressing the lack of engagement in traditional education that struggles to adapt to brains’ diversity.

The first online meeting to implement the project took place in January 2025, and a future in-person meeting is soon to take place.

It is only a matter of time before this project airs stories for prisoners to grow wings.

Referencias

1. Dubois Jean-Paul, Not Everybody Lives the Same Way, Editions de l’Olivier, 14/08/2019.

2. Sigifredo Castell-Britton. (2024). The Effectiveness of Prison Education in Reducing Criminal Recidivism: A Systematic Review. Qeios. doi:10.32388/CCWB9Y.

3. Erasmus+ Project “Stories that sew wings 2024-1-ESO-KA220-ADU-000255317”.