Board Election 2024 - casting a ballot

EFRJ Board Candidates 2024

Information on the Election and Presentation of the Board Candidates 

Board Election 2024

During the week (21-28 May 2024) leading up to the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), the membership of the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) will elect four Board members. New Board members, according to the adapted rules, will be elected for a 4 years term (see AGM 2018). 

The Annual General Meeting takes place in Tallinn, Estonia on 28 May 2024 evening (6-8 pm), followed by the 12th International Conference of the EFRJ (29-31 May 2024). The voting takes places online and runs for a period of 8 days leading up to the Annual General Meeting (21-28 May 2024). 

Background

The term of the following Board members comes to an end in 2024. In case they stand for election again, they can be re-elected for a second term: 

  • Katerina Soulou, Greece (1st term – elected in Tirana, 2018 for a 6 years term)
  • Maia Chochua, Georgia (1st term – elected online in 2020 for a 4 years term)
  • Petra Masopust Šachová, Czech Republic (1st term – elected online in 2020 for a 4 years term)
  • Lucy Jaffé, UK (she was co-opted by the Board in 2023 to terminate the term of Tim Chapman, now she needs to be candidate for her 1st term).

The mandate of the following Board members remains in effect:

  • Patrizia Patrizi, Italy
  • Brunilda Pali, Belgium
  • Antonio Buonatesta, Belgium
  • Claudia Christen-Schneider, Switzerland
  • Jorge Ollero Perán, Spain

The voting procedure

Full members of the EFRJ are invited to help shaping the future of the organisation by voting on the board candidates.

Who are the candidates? 

There are six candidates. Their nominations were approved by Selection Committee. You can see their profiles below. The candidates will not present themselves during the Annual General Meeting (and the voting will start earlier), so please study their materials carefully, so you can prepare yourself for the voting. Please check their profile pages in a week time from now as well, we will upload their short one minute video messages as well. 

When and where can I vote? 

The voting will start one week before the Annual General Meeting, on 21 May 2024 at 2 pm CEST and runs until 28 May 2024, 6:30 pm EEST (=5:30 pm CEST). The voting will take place online. This enables every full member to participate in the voting (even if you are unable to attend the Annual General Meeting). You may also vote already before the Annual General Meeting starts. The voting will close during the Annual General Meeting. 

How can I vote? 

Full members will receive instructions for the online voting via email (from the email address: noreply@electionrunner.com) by 21 May 2024. Please follow the link in the email to vote. 

You may only vote once. After you have voted, the system will not allow you to change your vote or add a new vote. 

Organisational members will received their invitation to vote at the email address registered as their organisation's main email address in our database. 

If you haven't received the email invitation to vote by then, check your Spam box. In case you still do not find it, please contact our Communication Officer at: balint.juhasz@euforumrj.org

How many candidates can I vote for?

Every EFRJ full member has four votes, this means you may vote for four candidates. You may use 1-4 of your votes. This means you don't need cast all your votes if you don't wish to. You can vote for one, two, or three candidates only, if you would like to do so. You can vote for maximum 4 candidates.  

How does the vote of organisational members count? 

The vote of organisational members count three times. Organisations do not need to take any additional action, the weight of their votes is automatically added by the online election system. 

I was not able to vote online, can I vote at the AGM in person? 

If you were not able to cast your ballot online, you will have the opportunity to vote on paper during the Annual General Meeting exceptionally. However, please try to opt for the online version, and rely on the paper based option as a last resort only. We ask this because the paper-based voting will be very time-consuming as we will need to check each voters eligibility first, and verify that they haven't voted online yet. 

When are the results announced? 

Results will be announced shortly after the closure of the voting, during the meeting. 

 

With your vote you will influence the future of the EFRJ! 

The candidates

My goal is to integrate restorative justice into the broader sustainability agenda. I firmly believe that tackling climate change effectively transcends mere temperature targets; it demands a profound paradigm shift.

I envision the EFRJ even more strengthened in advancing restorative justice principles across Europe and beyond. Building upon our collaborative efforts and the momentum gained in recent years, I foresee the EFRJ playing a pivotal role in shaping policy agendas, influencing legislative reforms, and fostering the widespread application of restorative justice.

I would like to see EFRJ play a greater role in helping the public develop a perspective about crime not only in terms of punishment but also about the needs of victims. I would like to support EFRJ to become a source of reference whose opinion is sought after by policy makers, public and the media. 

We need organisations like the European Forum on Restorative Justice to challenge dominant punitive orthodoxies so that people and communities can fulfil their potential. I want to strengthen the EFRJ’s impact and expand its influence in the next four years because I believe that the Forum has a critical role to play in embedding restorative justice in policy, for professionals and in practice. 

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. 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.

I see EFRJ as a respected European organisation, with strong membership, that has considerable influence on the European criminal policy and legislation, while promoting restorative justice as a broad concept with the power to change the mindset and old-fashioned principals of current criminal law, policy and practice.