Annegrete Johanson

I have been involved in restorative justice for the last six years, and the more I am involved in it, the more I want to learn and develop myself on the subject. I have been involved in youth at risk issues for almost 20 years. I have masters degree in social pedagogy and child protection. I began to work as project coordinator and started to develop mobile youth work in Estonia. I have also worked in closed institution for youth at risk, for the local government and also started NGO to support young people and their families. In 2018 I was invited to organise the first Restorative Justice  Week in Estonia. Organising the Restorative Justice Week I got to know more about restorative justice and I felt more and more intrigued about the subject. For five years I worked as a service manager (restorative justice and mediation) in the victim support department of the Estonian Social Insurance Board. I led the development of the volunteer system (training, support etc) for restorative justice in Estonia and also cooperated closely with partners (in Estonia and also foreign partners). During these years I developed a number of different approaches and models (e.g. restorative circles to support the communities, specialists and citizens; a model for returning young people to the community; restorative meetings and serious cases; domestic violence and restorative justice). I have coordinated a lot of projects and helped to develop restorative justice in Estonia. I am a trainer of restorative justice (based on the model of dr Belinda Hopkins), also I facilitate different conflicts (in schools, workplaces, and cases which come from police or prosecutor), circles and also restorative meetings (in sexual abuse cases). To raise awareness about the practice of  restorative justice in Estonia I have carried out lectures and seminars. I published different articles about the subject, also wrote a pocketbook and developed several e-courses. The beginning of this year I started in NGO RuaCrew. I want to practice and implement restorative justice in different areas and also offer training. I have taken the first steps in training private companies to raise their knowledge. Since I left the Social Insurance Board I continued my work organising the conference. I am very grateful for the cooperation with EFRJ. It has supported me a lot in my practice. The last few years I have been a member of the Working Group on Gender-Based Violence and Restorative Justice and The Restorative Justice  Values & Standards Committee.

The EFRJ contributes to the development of various documents and guidelines, which must be continued in order to ensure the highest possible uniformity of quality and restorative justice levels in different countries. In the development of restorative justice in Estonia, I have experienced how important the support of the EFRJ has been, both in bringing together different practices, sharing experiences and developing training and guidelines. At the same time I can see that even more vigorous efforts could be made to stand up for what restorative justice is and what it is not. In a small country like Estonia, I often see people who have attended a short seminar think that they are immediately experts on the subject. This, however, complicates the work of practitioners, experts and trainers. I have encountered professionals who are chasing different kinds of verification. It would be helpful if EFRJ members could share articles/studies etc. with EFRJ and these could be compiled into one database open to all members. I can see that another supportive and empowering resource could be regular (e.g. quarterly) 'covisions' where practitioners can discuss difficult situations that arise. The first Trainers Retreat was held in 2023, and regular meetings could also take place for trainers to empower each other and exchange experiences, to strengthen the community of trainers from different countries. During COVID a number of webinars and training sessions took place, which should certainly be continued to provide training opportunities for those who are not able to participate in contact training. In recent years I have been a member of a working group and a committee. I have learned that more emphasis could be placed on ensuring that the different working groups and committees are aware of each other's activities and directions, i.e. that there is greater awareness of each other's activities and that there are more opportunities for cooperation. I see a need for the EFRJ to share more of its good practices, developed guidelines, etc. among its members and others, as awareness is still rather limited today. As EFRJ brings together a variety of countries and practitioners/experts, perhaps a few countries/individuals could be highlighted each year to be acknowledged and highlighted as a best practice for other countries. The best experts could be awarded with one free/reduced participation in one of the EFRJ events of their own choice during the next year.

I have a long experience (since 2009) of being a board member of a NGO. I have been responsible for management, financials, fundraising and communications. The budget of NGO RuaCrew has come from project funding, service provision and fundraising. I have also worked for public administrations. My colleagues have said that I am a dedicated and hard-working promoter of restorative justice. Besides promoting I have been active in policy-making, law making, service development, people management, as well as a practitioner and advisor. I truly believe that my diverse experience will support me as a member of the EFRJ Board. I have enjoyed working with the EFRJ team organising the conference in Tallinn and would like to continue this cooperation in the future. It gives me the opportunity to develop and grow the field of restorative justice in Estonia. The quality of the work is very important for me. I see myself as a part of EFRJ developing, introducing and sharing the best practices of restorative justice with the world. I can say that I am proactive, i.e. when I see an opportunity to act, I do it, rather than wait for others to take the initiative. I see that being a Board member of EFRJ can help me to raise the knowledge and quality of restorative justice also here in Estonia. From the experience of developing the service at national level for many years, I can see the shortcomings, ignorance and mishaps that can occur. I work in the NGO RuaCrew with the goal of the NGO being the Competence Centre of restorative justice in Estonia and to be the leader of the best practices in Estonia. I know that I can influence the practices of restorative justice by being a board member of EFRJ. At the moment there are no representatives from the Nordic countries on the Board of EFRJ. I see an importance to bring together experiences and practices from the Nordic countries to develop restorative justice in our region. I am willing to contribute to the planning and implementation of the various activities mentioned above. I believe that managing different projects, organizing events, networking and also coordinating volunteers has given me the knowledge and skills. It will support me as a board member of EFRJ.

It is with great pleasure I propose Annegrete Johanson as a candidate for the Board of the European Forum for Restorative Justice. Annegrete would be a great asset for the Board, due to her versatile experience in restorative justice. Annegrete has been a big part of developing restorative justice in Estonia. Her experience covers both work within a government body, with development of the restorative justice services, policies and awareness raising, as well as work in an NGO. Annegrete has experience of working in co-operation with different authorities, schools and children´s institutions and developing restorative justice in areas where it is still quite new and unknown. She has insight in working with and for restorative justice both from many points-of-view. Annegrete has been strongly involved in the development of models, methods and training in Estonia. She is also a very amiable person who is easy to work with.

I am very happy to support Annegrete Johanson in her candidature for the European Forum for Restorative Justice Board. I have had the pleasure to cooperate with Annegrete over many years now in a project between our countries for developments of youth justice approach and restorative justice in Estonia. The project activities have covered training for trainers in Estonia, study visits to Norway, participation online in seminars for mediators and cooperating partners in Estonia. Through this project I have learned to know Annegrete as a dedicated skilled person within the restorative justice field, hardworking, a good organiser and always with a positive attitude! I believe she would be an excellent person for the board. Annegrete would also be an asset by contributing with perspectives from the Baltic countries.