RRC will present our work on Restorative Action Research in the upcoming National Association for Community and Restorative Justice conference. Look out for our session there, with two of our Guatemalan sister cohort colleagues. Below is our session info and description.

7/7/2022 2:30-3:30 pm (C-012) – Restorative Action Research with Practitioners from

NY and Guatemala. Room Number: E271A

Presenters: Rochelle Arms Almengor, Lorena Coy, Tomay Douglas, William M. Evans, Rusa Fischer, Flor Garcia-Mencos, Skye Roper-Moses.

Description:

Title: Restorative Action Research with Practitioners from New York and Guatemala

This panel is led by participants from the Restorative Roots Collaborative and the Colectivo Internacional de Practicantes Restaurativos, two groups of RJ practitioners in New York and Guatemala, who undertook a Participatory Action Research (PAR) process to study RJ practices from their perspectives as members of underrepresented communities. In line with restorative principles, PAR invites those affected by an area of research to determine the focus and process of the research. PAR methods can therefore vary considerably. The groups in this project carried out a restorative orientation to PAR, utilizing a circle format and committing to healing moments of harm where possible. Presenters will share their experiences of what they came to understand as “Restorative Action Research” and its impact on their work.  Specifically, they will discuss it as a kind of community of care within the RJ field, in addition to its indispensable use for ongoing learning and research about restorative practices. Two larger goals of this project are: to raise underrepresented voices in the field, and to serve as anchors for the roots of restorative practices in response to its commodification.