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ICPA Event

Annual Conference 2025

26 – 31 October 2025 Istanbul, Türkiye

Call for Papers 

Annual Conference 2025: Wellbeing in Corrections: Initiatives for Staff, ​​Systems, and Communities 

The call for papers is closed now. 

2025 is a significant anniversary for the international corrections community, as it marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the 15th anniversary of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) by the UN General Assembly.
 
The so-called Nelson Mandela Rules, in particular, constitute the universally recognized blueprint for prison management and the treatment of prisoners and serve as a key benchmark for prison and correctional systems worldwide. The principles, detailed guidance and safeguards set out in the Nelson Mandela Rules ensure safe, secure and rehabilitative prison environments where respect, humanity, dignity and well-being is preserved under all circumstances.
 
Importantly, the Rules remind us that the ultimate purposes of a prison sentence can only be achieved if the period of incarceration is used, to the maximum extent possible, to support both the willingness and ability of prisoners to successfully reintegrate into their communities upon release.
 
In recognition of this milestone anniversary, the International Corrections and Prisons Association’s (ICPA) 2025 Annual Conference, Wellbeing in Corrections: Initiatives for Staff, Systems, and Communities, invites submissions on this theme from a diverse range of voices, including academics, practitioners, international organizations, NGOs, innovators, and those with lived experience.
 
Correctional administrators have come to recognise that the practical application of the Nelson Mandela Rules and efforts aimed at maintaining the safety and wellbeing of staff and the people we manage is critical to achieving good community safety, rehabilitation and social reintegration outcomes. By centering rehabilitation around safety and wellbeing, the focus shifts from merely addressing deficits to amplifying the positive dimensions of human life, including a sense of autonomy and self-direction, validation, active community participation, and meaningful connections.
 
Safety and well-being must be understood and addressed at both the individual and system levels, recognising the interplay between personal experiences and broader systemic structures. At the individual level, safety and well-being focus on the psychological, physical, social and cultural needs of each person. At the system level, it requires the creation of policies, practices and cultures that promote safe and supportive environments.
 
This involves individualized and evidence-based programming, trauma-informed care, procedural fairness, restorative justice practices, good design, cultural safety and an adherence to fundamental safeguards to prevent harm and prevent ill-treatment under any circumstances whatsoever.
 
ICPA2025 aims to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas, focusing on practical and research-based solutions to improve wellbeing within the corrections environment and to streamline a renewed commitment to the practical application of the Nelson Mandela Rules.
 
Presentations will address, inter alia, challenges and innovations across staff welfare, systemic reforms and the alignment of prison management with international minimum standards, and the integration of correctional communities into a holistic approach to the treatment of offenders, including transitions to, and management of, community-based orders.

Sub-Themes 

 
1. Wellbeing for Staff 
 
Staff are essential for well-functioning corrections systems. However, many jurisdictions are facing significant challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff with correctional officers noting high levels of stress, burnout, and mental health challenges. For Theme One, we encourage submissions that focus on interventions for the wellbeing of staff, including in relation to: 
 
  • Staff Recruitment and Retention: Strategies to attract, support, and retain high-quality correctional professionals. 
  • Workplace Safety and Resilience: Addressing physical safety, mental health challenges, and resilience-building for staff. 
  • Training and Development: Enhancing skills and well-being through professional development and training programs. 
  • Workplace Culture and Support Systems: Developing positive, inclusive workplace environments and peer-support systems. 
  • Relationships and Fairness: building high-quality professional relationships between staff and between staff and people serving orders, that are characterised by respect, trust, accountability and fairness 
2. Wellbeing in Systems 
 
​​​Interrelated systems that impact on correctional practice must balance operational efficiency with the provision of humane, rehabilitative environments. For Theme Two, we encourage submissions that focus on interventions that seek to build effective systems that enable improved outcomes for people impacted by the criminal justice system, their families, and the broader community, including in relation to: 
 
  • Healthcare Systems in Corrections: Strategies to provide equitable, accessible healthcare for diverse populations, including those with chronic and acute conditions. 
  • Designing for Wellbeing: Incorporating principles of therapeutic architecture to create spaces that promote rehabilitation and staff safety. 
  • ​​​Youth and Juvenile Justice Reforms: Exploring age-appropriate interventions and justice mechanisms that prioritize rehabilitation and development for young people. 
  • Data-Informed Policies: Using research, data, and technology to inform systemic reforms and measure well-being outcomes. 
  • Sustainability in Corrections: Incorporating environmentally sustainable practices into corrections facility management and operations. 
  • Technological Innovations: Leveraging digital tools, artificial intelligence, and automation to enhance safety, operational efficiency, and access to rehabilitative programs. 
  • Mitigating trauma: through the adoption of trauma informed policy and practice and interventions to address the long-term consequences of complex trauma. 
  • Community supervision: Strategies and systems that enable people to remain or return to their communities under community supervision orders, including probation and parole practices 
3. Wellbeing in Communities 
 
Communities are critical to the corrections ecosystem, from those within prison environments to the broader community impacted by incarceration and reintegration. For Theme Three, we encourage submissions that focus on interventions that examine the experience of people in ​​custody and under community-based orders, the re-entry process, and the role of non-government actors in supporting reintegration, including in relation to: 
 
  • Prison Communities: Creating environments that support rehabilitation and reduce violence among incarcerated individuals. 
  • Re-entry and Reintegration: Programs that support individuals transitioning from custody to the community, ensuring long-term success and reduced recidivism. 
  • Community Supervision (probation and parole practices): Effective management and monitoring of community sentences to foster accountability and rehabilitation. 
  • Restorative Justice Approaches: Encouraging practices that repair harm and rebuild relationships among offenders, victims, and communities. 
  • Lived Experience Leadership: Elevating voices of individuals impacted by the justice system to inform and shape correctional practice. 

4. Nelson Mandela Rules

For Theme Four, we encourage submissions that address broader areas impacting corrections practice, with a focus on those derived from the Nelson Mandela Rules and reform efforts aimed at enhancing actual compliance of prison management with this universally recognized set of minimum standards:
  •  Human Rights and Dignity: Ensuring compliance with key safeguards embodied in international standards for the humane treatment of incarcerated individuals
  • Non-Discrimination: Addressing treatment disparities and responding to the special needs of women, minorities and other marginalized groups in corrections.
  • Rehabilitative prison environments: Giving a practical and holistic meaning to rehabilitation support, including investments in staff, design and programming.
  • Contact with the outside world: Initiatives to foster family relations and other key contacts with the outside world during incarceration and post-release.
  • Social reintegration: Multi-agency strategies to foster social reintegration prospects, including through social connections and employment opportunities.
  • Cultural Sensitivity: Tailoring programs to meet the needs of indigenous and culturally diverse populations.
  • Technology and Innovation: Evaluating intended and unintended consequences of tools aimed at enhancing safety, monitoring, and access to services in corrections.
  • Accountability: Building trust through fair, transparent and accountable corrections practices, safe complaints procedures and independent oversight
Shape 
Submission Guidelines 
 
Submissions can be presentations, workshops, or panel discussions and will be selected based on their quality and relevance to the conference themes. Submissions should include references to research, data, and evidence where available.  
 
We welcome submissions from practitioners, academics, researchers, justice officials, international organizations, and others engaged in correctional services who are contributing to the future directions of corrections. Please note that private and not-for-profit organisations are strongly encouraged to consider co-presenting with public sector partners where appropriate. 
 
ICPA’s Programme Committee will strive to have only one presentation per person/organization and to maximize the regional spread of speakers’ origin. In responding to this call for papers, submissions must:  
  • Align with at least one of the conference themes.  
  • Include speaker and co-speaker biographies and photos, an abstract, and an abstract overview. 
  • Include at least three questions for discussions.  
  • Ensure any references to research or outcomes must include sources.  
  • Be non-commercial/non-product focused.  
When submitting the abstract, please specify the theme and type of session. The call for papers will close on Friday 16 May. Should you need additional information, please email us: [email protected].