Intersectoral Meeting Summarising the Polish Edition of the Game with Mum & Dad Project, in Poland at the Tarnów Prison, organised at the initiative of Małopolskie Stowarzyszenie Probacja
The Game Is On – Despite Walls and Bars! ⚽️
On 9 December, an intersectoral meeting summarising this year’s Polish edition of the Game with Mum & Dad project took place at the Tarnów Prison – External Unit in Tarnów-Mościce.
The meeting, organised at the initiative of Małopolskie Stowarzyszenie Probacja under the slogan “Partnership That Works”, brought together representatives of key institutions involved in the penitentiary system, probation services, judiciary, sports associations and prison administration. The meeting was coordinated by Agnieszka Szeliga-Żywioł, Head of the Pro Domo Integration Centre (in the photos by Paulina Bąbol).
Among the participants were Paweł Kijowski, Judge of the Regional Court (SSO), Head of the III Penitentiary and Enforcement of Criminal Judgments Division of the Regional Court in Tarnów, Lt. Col. Dr Szymon Glica, Regional Director of the Prison Service in Kraków, who granted honorary patronage to this year’s edition of the project, Col. Filip Skubel, Director of the Penitentiary Bureau of the Central Board of the Prison Service, Dr Marta Jedynak, Regional Probation Officer of the Regional Court in Tarnów, Representatives of the Małopolska Football Association and the Podkarpackie Football Association, Specialists from the Regional Inspectorates of the Prison Service in Kraków and Rzeszów, together with heads of penitentiary departments from subordinate units.
The host of the meeting was the Director of the Tarnów prison unit, which hosted family football matches as part of the project for the second time.
During the meeting, the philosophy and methodology of the Game with Mum & Dad project were presented, along with a summary of three years of experience in implementing the project in the Kraków prison district.
Participants also discussed the results of recent research on adolescents’ adaptation to separation from a parent serving a prison sentence.
A strong emphasis was placed on the practical dimension of the initiative. Prison educators and specialists involved in the project shared their experiences and recommendations with representatives of prison units from the Rzeszów district.
Throughout the discussion, one key question repeatedly emerged: is it worth undertaking the organisational effort required to implement such initiatives? The answer was clear and unanimous: yes – it is worth it, and it is necessary.
Strengthening family bonds is one of the key tools supporting the social rehabilitation of people serving prison sentences. The Game with Mum & Dad project stands as a concrete example of effective practice that reinforces family relationships and supports social reintegration.
This event has been organised by Polish COPE member Probacja, a NGO working to protect the rights of children with imprisoned parents in Poland. GWMD is a project organised across Europe by Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) and made possible with the support of the European Commission and UEFA Foundation for Children. It follows a model created and developed by Bambinisenzasbarre, which works nationwide in Italy. The Project aims to strengthen, maintain and enhance the bond between children and their imprisoned parents, and to generate systemic, child rights–based change across prison systems. GWMD has been carried out by Probacja in Poland over the last three years (2023–2025).
