Como: restorative wefts in the community

Abstract

ConTatto: Trame riparative nella comunità is a community welfare project that aims to promote cultural, social and network conditions to spread the values, principles and practices of the restorative community's approach in handling conflicts. The operational goals of the project are to go beyond the rationale of pitting the conflicting parties against each other and to spread mediation and restorative community practices. The aim is to encourage voluntary and consensual meetings between the parties, while also potentially involving groups of citizens. The project has been funded by Fondazione Cariplo as part of a call for projects to implement social welfare. Having been devised in 2015 and planned in 2016, it has been running for three years (2017-2020). The project is implemented in the city of Como and the surrounding areas. Twelve partners are involved, including two local public institutions, among which are the municipality of Como, two universities (Insubria and Bergamo), a social research agency and different social agencies and third sector non-profit organisations. The project is also supported by a wide network of local public and private institutions. Insubria's Restorative Justice and Mediation Centre and Bergamo's Restorative Community approach contributed significantly during the design phase. Experience gained among the partners in social reintegration of offenders, empowerment of victims, community cohesion work, legal innovations in the period (e.g. L.67/14) and operative protocols among different agencies added to this endeavour.