Yope INSPIRES & ENGAGES
YOPE works as an energetic and imaginative break from the routine in closed facilities and offers an opportunity for young people to tell their story once they leave.
Using movement and creative methods, YOPE inspires and engages young people and professionals in the justice chain to imagine a new youth justice system, centered on youth’s needs and focused on their strengths.
‘I often don’t want to leave my cell,
but this activity pushed me to do it.
It helped me let out
what is inside my heart’
Workshop participant, Italy
‘It is important to set clear guidelines for what you want to achieve. This gives you a goal on the horizon, even if you hit rock bottom. When that happens, you can pick yourself up and continue working towards your objectives.’
YOPE Expert
Portfolio of activities:
Dutch and international youth comes in contact with YOPE both during and after detention during workshops, peer support sessions and other exchanges. Together, we explore interests, develop skills and create something new.
Through this, YOPE experiences a wealth of creativity and expertise from young people and the outcome of such activities reveal their unique perspective on the justice system, on themselves and on the world around them.
You will meet YOPE Facilitators and experience one (or more!) of the sixteen disciplines available, including different forms of music, sports, expression and design.
Your Court Day (2024)
Together with YOPE Experts, juvenile prosecutors and other court professionals, YOPE produced a short film to better inform youth who will soon have their day in court.
What can a young person expect on court day? Who are all these people in gowns? Will you be listened to when you tell them your story? By exploring this questions, the film aims to ensure the court day becomes an opportunity for the young person to be heard and take a positive step forward in their journey through the justice system.
The video has substitles in Dutch, English and Arabic.
Your Court Day (2023-2024) was a collaboration between the Child Friendly Justice European Network (CFJ-EN), FNO Care for Opportunity, the Dutch Ministry of Justice & Security & REDRUM.
Just Closer Podcast (2024):
As part of the Just Closer project, YOPE has developed a podcast series with seven episodes. In each episode, the hosts and guests explore how young people have experienced their journey through the legal proceedings. What do young people need to feel heard and be able to actively participate in their process? And what do professionals need to ensure a child-friendly legal process in their work?
Listen here (in Dutch):
Just Closer (2022-2024) was a collaboration between Defence for Children International Italy, YOPE Genova University, Valencia University, and the Greek Ministry of Justice. The project was co-funded by the European Commission.
Creative workshop in Italy (Tutta un’altra storia – 2023)
In 2023, YOPE established a partnership with the Biografilm Festival (Bologna, Italy). As part of Tutta un’altra storia – an educational initiative of the festival – YOPE facilitators delivered boxing and rap workshops for youth in the Penal Institute for Minors “Pietro Siciliani”.
Using three movies selected as part of the festival as inspiration, the outcome of this collaboration was the song Mon Amie, written by the workshpo participants and mixed by Lamyn Belgaroui.
Exchanging Perspectives (Youthlab, 2021)
As part of the Youthlab partnership (2020-2022), YOPE brought together experience experts from the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy for a weekend, when they had the opportunity to reflect together on their experience in the justice system, on how the program transformed them and their aspirations for the future of the juvenile justice system.
See below the documentary with English subtitles.
Youthlab (2019-2022) was a collaboration between YOPE, DCI Italy, DEI Belgium and the University of Amsterdam. The project was co-funded by the European Union.