INN’s Global Freedom Fellowship 2025 unites global leaders in South Africa to redefine justice

Incarceration Nations Network (INN) is elated to present the 2025 Global Freedom Fellowship (GFF), an unparalleled program empowering formerly incarcerated leaders from around the globe to redefine justice and lead transformative change.

Intentionally set against the backdrop of South Africa for the third year in a row, the GFF will take place over two weeks in March, culminating in a landmark event at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on March 25th, 2025.

The Global Freedom Fellowship is a first-of-its-kind initiative dedicated to fostering a transnational community of justice-involved leaders. Through trauma-informed leadership training, innovative advocacy workshops, and cross-cultural exchanges, the fellowship equips participants to be the vanguard of justice reform. “This is more than a program; it’s a movement,” says Baz Dreisinger, Founder of Incarceration Nations Network. “GFF is a testament to the belief that globally speaking, those who have experienced the justice system are best poised to fix it.”

Celebrating the Legacy of South Africa’s Justice Movements

South Africa’s history, deeply intertwined with movements for freedom and justice, provides the idealsetting for this transformative program. From the indomitable spirit of Nelson Mandela to the enduringwisdom of Robert Sobukwe, South Africa’s prisons have been crucibles for leadership and innovation. AsMandela himself declared, “In my country, you go to prison first, and then you become president.”

Fellows will visit iconic landmarks such as Robben Island and Soweto, engage with South Africa’s pioneering prison-university partnership, and collaborate with local justice communities like INN partner The Justice Desk, which empowers young people in impacted communities. These experiences will immerse participants in the South African principle of Ubuntu — the belief in a shared humanity — underscoring the importance of collective action in the pursuit of justice.

Empowering Leaders with Lived Experience

The GFF challenges traditional narratives around incarceration and reentry by positioning those with livedexperience at the forefront of global justice reform. The fellowship nurtures a new generation of leaderswho are:

• Changemakers: Advocating for smart-on-crime solutions that prioritize community safety and rehabilitation over punitive measures.
• Innovators: Designing and implementing forward-thinking policies in their home countries.
• Connectors: Building global networks to foster solidarity and shared knowledge.

This year’s cohort represents a diverse group of leaders from across the globe, united by their resilience, expertise, and commitment to transformation.

Among them:

• Gustavo Alvarez Moreno (Mexico): A specialist in addictions and restorative justice who supports incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, focusing on youth, LGBTQ+, and HIV communities.
• Joseph Kwon (Australia): After 13 years in prison, founded Confit Pathways, which delivers fitness-based youth mentoring programs via mentors with lived prison experience in every Youth Justice Centre in New South Wales.
• Franco Ruz Segura (Chile): Having earned his university degree while incarcerated, he is now a teacher at Volver a Casa, an organization offering multidisciplinary workshops, including those using virtual reality, in prisons throughout Chile.
• Lerato Steven Kossie (South Africa): Using 25 years of youth development experience, empowers underserved young men as a Justice Desk program coordinator at iNtsika yeThemba.
• Lauren Bryan (The United Kingdom): From incarceration to managing prison projects, she works on securing national funding for youth programs and advancing education access for incarcerated students at Doing What Really Matters.

Full bios of all Fellows and INN reps can be found here.

A Culminating Event of Global Significance

On March 25th, the fellowship will conclude with a dynamic event at the Nelson Mandela Foundation inJohannesburg. featuring talks by the Global Freedom Fellows, music, refreshments and communitybuilding , this convening will amplify the fellows’ work and highlight the global imperative of justicereform. Media representatives, policymakers, and civil society leaders are invited to attend and join theconversation on creating a more equitable future.

About Incarceration Nations Network

INN is a global network and think tank dedicated to justice system transformation. By centering the voices of those directly impacted, INN fosters innovative approaches to reform, shifting narratives from punishment to empowerment. Learn more at www.incarcerationnationsnetwork.org.