Libera – Associations, Names and Numbers against mafias

Libera – Association Nomi e Numeri contro le mafie

Libera (LI) is an NGO that engages in prevention and targets first-line work of mafia-disengagement and human rights/ social skills education. Here LI engages with at-risk or afflicted young people leaning towards involvement in mafias and towards life-styles characterised by prejudice, xenophobia, racism, sexism, machismo and violence.

LI practitioners come from various backgrounds such as teaching and social work; LI collaborates with more than 4500 schools and 1600 national and local organisations in and around youth work and social issues in Italy, and increasingly worldwide. The focus is on disenfranchised and mafia-afflicted communities.

LI’s approach combines elements of social re-integration, non-repressive and Restorative Justice methods, alternative conflict resolution, intensive and long-term awareness and activity settings (the one year first-offender project “Amunì”), violent act reflection work with ex-offenders, the "Casa della Memoria" approach (Memory House), “liberated lands” setting in confiscated mafia estates.

While LI works mostly with young people and first-offenders, for its future work it recognises the need to also work with the more hardened and older offenders and to participate in developing suitable training and rehabilitation programmes.

Contact details:

Giulia Poscetti
Email: international@libera.it