Prof. Velma Newton, Regional Project Director of the IMPACT Justice Project
The Canadian government-funded Improved Access to Justice (IMPACT Justice) Project sponsored five Restorative Practices workshops for principals, vice-principals, guidance counsellors, teachers and Ministry of Education officers in Grenada from July 11 to 16, 2016.
The Opening Session took place on July 11th and Prof. Velma Newton, Regional Project Director of the IMPACT Justice Project delivered the Opening Remarks. She told the audience that the two main areas of focus of IMPACT Justice are the drafting of model legislation at the request of Governments of 13 CARICOM Member States and Alternative Dispute Resolution under which the Restorative Practices Workshop fell.
She added that the notion of Restorative Practices evolved from the concept and practices of Restorative Justice, which has been defined as a theory of justice that focuses on the crime and wrong doing. Chief Education Officer Mr. Elvis Morain was appreciative of the training provided by IMPACT Justice and hoped that those trained would be prepared to implement what they have learnt in order to bring peace and new ideas about solving problems to their schools and communities.
Five 2-day sessions were conducted over the course of 6 days, with two sessions held simultaneously on days 1-2 and 3-4, and one session held on days 5-6. One hundred and sixty-five educators completed the workshop, most of whom expressed their gratitude to the Project and the Government of Canada. Many participants reported that they were eager to take the skills learnt into their schools.
The training was conducted by Mr. Bruce Schenk and Mr. Ron Cameron, both of the International Institute for Restorative Practices, Canada.
