News

Report on the prison visits to Moldova in September 2023
Project «Libertatea este casa mea!» (Freedom is my house!)
In the course of a project meeting, the VEBO delegation was invited to visit two of the four prisons where the learning programmes of the above-mentioned project are implemented. On the one hand, this was prison no. 15 in Cricova for the closed prison regime, and on the other hand, prison no. 18 in Brăneşti for the "semi-open" prison regime.

Project «Drunken Driver Learning Programme in Georgia»
Video message from VEBO to our partners in Tbilisi.

Reducing Death-Toll with trainings for Drivers with alcohol-Abuse’s
Death-toll due to alcohol-abuses is very high in Georgia. A workshop on Oct.16th and 17th in Tbilisi focuses on the question whether the LP TaV developed and in use since more than 10 years in Zürich could help to reduce the problem.

Opening of social-pedagogic centre Compass in Tbilisi

Intergration for jobless-ex-prisoners remains the focus of RCS

On ocotober 27th the members of VEBO held a whole day meeting to redesign the strategy of the association. A first analysis showed that in an overall view the expertise among the members is quite broadly based. So VEBO could initiate or to participate in projects in prevention and integration in the field of probation and justice.

Project convinces experts and Government of Canton Zurich.
The Government of Canton Zurich follows the assessment of its experts and grants VEBO with CHF 427’000 for developing and implementing a “social-pedagogic Centre” in Tbilisi.

Confidence in a difficult environment

Bucharest, November 14th – 16th 2017

Thomas Wüthrich, Manfred Flühmann and Roger Hofer flew to Bucharest on Sunday, November 12th 2017 and where Mihai Popescu, President of GRADO gave them a warm welcome. He then brought the three Swiss experts to Hotel RIN Central, where the seminar was to took place.

Jiri Bouska opened the meeting of the Board and was happy to see that all Board Members managed to attend the meeting. He informed on the developments and highlights since the last meeting in March 2017.

Jiri’s hope to get an important contract for removing graffiti in Prague did not materialize. Competition in this field is extremely tough and focuses on the price only, forgetting important criteria such as quality and social reintegration of long-term-unemployed persons, which is an important point in the offer of RCS.

Between the 16^th and 19^th of July three VEBO-members visited Tiflis in Georgia. Their task was to discuss the findings and suggestions made by the responsible project-managers at the Divine Child foundation (www.divinechildfoundation.org) and to define the next steps.

Look back on a successful project with a difficult future
Last Board Meeting of FPSC in Bucharest
Back in 2006 VEBO met representatives of Romanian Ministry of Justice and its Probation Service at a conference of CEP (Conférence permanente Europeen de Probation) in Lugano.

Dagmar Doubravova, Chairwomen of Rubikon Centrum Servis (RCS), was very pleased with the development of the company. Especially the start of Jiri Bouska as the new head of RCS in December 2016 fosters new hope. He worked hard and successfully to master his new work field.

Something like 5 % - representing approx.. CHF  5 Million - of the Swiss contribution to the cohesion fund has been attributed to the Program of Swiss-Czech collaboration. Money was attributed to 98 projects. One of them was the Rubikon Centrum Servis project.

VEBO invited, on a suggestion of Anna Beck (ZKJ) and Theo Eugster (Gefängnisse Zürich), six professionals to visit different institutions in the Canton of Zurich, working in the field of rehabilitation of juvenile and young adult drug abusers.

Boardmeeting April 20th 2016

Dagmar Doubravova, president of the Board, informed Board-Members about the latest developments at RCS.

Alin Paun, CEO of FPSC, informed the Board that he had deposited at the NCU (National Coordination Unit of the Romanian Ministry of Finance) the business-plan and a request for a prolongation of the financing of the CS-Project. This to secure that at least the Workshop (WS) in Bucharest may run until the end of 2017.

Board Meeting in Prague December 7th 2015

Roman Palata, designated CEO of RCS, was present in the morning of the last Board meeting in Prague. Dagmar Doubravova, Peter Gründler and Manfred Flühmann gave a broad overview on the aims of RCS.

High-ranking Delegation from the Czech Republic on a study-tour in Canton of Zurich visiting Work-integration programs in Winterthur and Zurich

Dagmar Doubravova, Director of Rubikon Centrum in Prague, brought a group of Experts from the Social- and Justice-field – amongst them Mr. Vladimir Zimmel, Viceminister of Justice of the Czech Republic, to a two days visit to Switzerland.

Is it time to close down the whole project or is there a way of preserving at least a part of the project in Romania? This was the the question for VEBO-President Thomas Wüthrich before going to the Board Meeting of FPSC in Bucharest on november 20th 2015.

The perspectives for the community service (CS) workshops are very promising at the moment.

Members of the a.i. management of Rubikon Centrum Servis (RCS) informed the participants of the shareholder-meeting about the last 4 months of business. The set aims have been reached however the stress was heavy due to the lack of adequate personnel resources. So the Uvaly project has been implemented and received full support from the Mayor of this small town nearby Prague. This led to a prolongation of the existing contract as far as to 2016 and to an increase of the hourly rate payed by Uvaly.

Furthermore the management informed the meeting that new contracts are in the pipeline and will help to enlarge RCS.

Visit in Uvaly 27^th and 28^th of July 2015

The first BM of RCS was mainly dealing with strategic questions and the search of a CEO of RCS. The contract with the town of Uvaly may be a tinplate for future activities of the new company.

Integration of long-term jobless into the first labour market

Our new Company needs a leader. He/she will have the task to build up and lead the company successfully in the extremely competitive surrounding.

On June 26^th the Board of FPSC met in Bucharest. The main topic was the question of sustainability of the project, which is heavily endangered by the actual law.

For presentation at the Sechseläuten exhibition, VEBO had a documentary made about the Workshops for Community Service in Romania, and also described the new project in the Czech Republic supporting the long-term unemployed who have committed offences.

In 2015 the Canton of Zürich was the Sechseläuten spring celebration's guest. The Government Council gave its participation the motto «Mitenand» («together») and documented its solidarity work within Switzerland as well as abroad. Among others, VEBO as a beneficiary of the Lottery Fund of the Canton of Zürich was given the task to present its projects in Eastern Europe.