Annegrete Johanson 2022

Since I was 15 years old youth at risk has been the subject of my heart. I started to volunteer to work with youth at risk. After I graduated high school, I started to study social work. I have a master 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 a closed institution for youth at risk, for the local government and also started an NGO to support young people and their families.

In 2018, I was invited to organise the first RJWeek in Estonia. Organising the RJWeek I got to know more about restorative justice and I felt more and more intrigued about the subject. Since 2019, I have worked for the Social Insurance Board as service manager (restorative justice and mediation) in the victim support department. I led the development of the volunteer system (trainings, support etc.) for restorative justice in Estonia and also cooperated closely with partners (in Estonia and also with foreign partners).

When the COVID-19 outbreak started we begun to cooperate with the members of EFRJ to develop restorative circles to support the specialists and school workers and also parents and young people. We use this method to support the communities after different events which shocked communities (shooting, accidents etc.). We also help school workers and pupils with difficult relationships. I have coordinated a lot of projects and helped to develop restorative justice in Estonia. I am a trainer of restorative justice (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 the awareness about the practice of restorative justice in Estonia I have given lectures and seminars. I have many published articles about the subject.

I want to develop myself in this field and also bring the knowledge to Estonia. For me it is important to cooperate with other fields (criminal justice, social, education etc.) in Estonia and foreign countries to know more about the best practices.

Here in Estonia, we have quite a lot confusion about the term ‘restorative justice and practice’. Last few years the awareness has raised a lot.

As we are a small country, we can pilot different practices quite quickly. This year me, my colleagues and also volunteers developed and started a pilot programme of restorative practices for youngsters who have been in a closed institution to integrate them back to their community. These years have shown me that we have to hear young people. They are the experts of their life. If we offer them the core beliefs of restorative justice, they will cooperate with us. We, as adults, have to earn their respect. Every story has different sides and we have to hear them all.

Restorative justice has taught me that even if we think we are good listeners, we can always do better. It is important to ask about thoughts, feelings and needs. In our everyday life we don't have time for that and that is why many people (especially young people) think their stories, feelings and needs are not important. restorative justice has infiltrated into my everyday life – at work, interacting with colleagues, friends and family.

Estonia has a large population of Russian speaking citizens and the situation today has brought up different views and understandings. We already have quite a lot conflicts developing in workplaces and schools and restorative justice could be necessary in there. So, we try to be proactive. restorative justice can support the people who are working with refugees from Ukraine and also Ukrainians who have lived in Estonia for many years. They have different feelings about the war and many of them are feeling that they can't talk about it at home. With restorative circles we can offer them the possibility to talk about their feelings and needs. I think that we should integrate more service design and involve service users, also young people. They can share their experiences and it works more than words from specialists. I have a strong experience in cooperation with various national authorities and experience in completing national programmes. restorative justice has been in the Social Insurance Board for only 3 years and in that time, we have grown and we have widened our scope in different fields. We don´t offer only mediation but we integrate restorative justice at different levels (prevention, as alternative to punishment, separately). We have developed the system so we can choose the most appropriate method in restorative justice to focus on the best interests of the victims. Working as a public official to develop and practice restorative justice I can bring the broader picture to the Board. I have a passion and a wish to develop restorative justice in Estonia and also to contribute to the developments in the EFRJ. I feel that I have competence to offer knowhow for the countries that want to start to offering restorative justice or help to broaden the field.

It is my great pleasure to recommend Annegrete Johanson for EFRJ Board member. My name is Jako Salla and I work as a Head of Victim Support and Prevention Services at the Estonian Social Insurance Board. I have worked closely with Annegrete for the last three and a half years and seen her making restorative justice history in Estonia. Under her leadership the restorative justice national services have professionally developed for victims, offenders and involved parties. Her professional and open-minded approach has been a wonderful example for our partners, volunteers and colleagues. Due to her work, Estonian Social Insurance Board have established strong community of volunteer mediators, strong partnership with the police, prosecutors, judges and youth workers. Our restorative justice service is well known among school communities and awareness in public society is systematically addressed. Annegrete is a strong advocate for restorative justice and wonderful practitioner. She is not afraid to tackle sensitive cases, always eager to learn from our partners abroad. I am confident that Annegrete would be an excellent EFRJ Board member.

I am delighted to support Annegrete Johanson in her candidature for the European Forum for Restorative Justice Board. I have worked closely with Annegrete in recent years as she and her colleagues have sought to develop restorative justice services, restorative justice policies and innovative uses of restorative practices in criminal justice and other contexts. Annegrete has played a central role in all of work, including training, practice and policy development. I cannot speak highly enough of Annegrete and her work and colleagues and would love to see someone from Estonia, and Annegrete in particular, represented at the EFRJ Board. Annegrete would be a strong and much-needed voice from Eastern Europe and the Baltic region.

Email: annegrete.johanson@sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee

Organisation, job title: Social Insurance Board of Estonia