Beyond the Bars: Education, Advocacy and Systems Change

Join us for an interactive workshop exploring RMIT's award-winning Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, where university students and incarcerated people learn together as peers within prison. This innovative educational initiative not only transforms learning experiences but also provides a foundation for impactful research, advocacy, and systems change.

Hear directly from graduates of the program, including both current and former incarcerated participants, as they reflect on their experiences of education in prison and their continued involvement in prison-based and community Think Tanks. These Think Tanks bring together people with lived experience, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to examine complex criminal justice issues and co-design solutions.

The workshop will explore research and consultations undertaken by the Think Tanks on topics such as parole conditions, bail and remand, preparing for release, education in prison, family connection, and pathways to reintegration. Participants will gain insight into how lived experience expertise is informing policy, practice, and reform, and will be invited to consider how education, research, and advocacy can contribute to a fairer, more humane, and more effective criminal justice system.