Young in Prison (YiP)

Über uns

Young in Prison (YIP) is a non-governmental organization active in The Netherlands since 2013 and abroad (Albania and Kosovo, Colombia, Kenya, Malawi,South Africa), focused on helping and collaborating with young people who are incarcerated or have previously been incarcerated.
YiP is an international NGO that enables children and young people in contact with the law to contribute positively to society through creative and sports development programmes, in prison and after release. YiP runs advocacy initiatives for and with young people in conflict with the law.
YiP believes that creativity liberates the potential of every child in contact with the law to contribute positively to society. Since 2002 YiP has been working with young prisoners, leading to the development of the COPOSO method: Contributing Positively to Society. COPOSO is based on the values of positivity, creativity, equality, inspiration, transparancy and honesty. YiP believes in working on a personal level with young people and providing high energy workshops.

Vision
Young in Prison strives towards a world that encourages (previously) incarcerated youths to contribute to society from their own sense of initiative and agency. Our Theory of Change outlines how the activities we facilitate foster this kind of attitude.

Mission
Our mission is to unlock the latent potential of (previously) incarcerated youths with Urban Arts and Sports.

What we do
We facilitate creative and athletic workshop programmes inside the walls of youth prisons and correctional institutions. The programmes are designed to teach young people important Life Skills and to allow them to discover their inner strength and powers of imagination. We also guide young people in their transition from life inside prison to ‘life on the outside’. Youths who have been released for a longer time can join the Youthlab, where they are trained to provide real-world expertise and training to professionals in the juvenile justice system, like public prosecutors, judges and lawyers.

Activities:
• Creative and Athletic Workshops
• Mentoring programme
• Youthlab

Iris Adriaanse is the Communication & Office Manager at Young in Prison (YIP).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.