IMRP Researcher Brittany Lamarr’s work with the National Prison Debate League (NPDL) is featured in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper and the most widely read in the Nordic countries.
Lamarr, a researcher with the IMRP’s International Justice Exchange (IJE), also serves as Assistant Director of the NPDL. The organization’s mission is to provide postsecondary educational opportunities to incarcerated men and women through the creation of partnerships where a thoughtful exchange of ideas can increase knowledge, understanding, and community.
An NPDL key initiative is training incarcerated individuals in the art of debate and organizing opportunities to engage in debates with college students. This initiative not only boosts the self-confidence and public speaking skills of those incarcerated, but also opens pathways to higher education.
In collaboration with IJE colleague Susanna Fabritius-Haverinen, Lamarr worked with debaters from Jokela Prison in Finland. Together, they prepared for and facilitated a debate with students from Suffolk University in Boston. Lamarr enlisted Tripp Rebrovic, Director of Debate at the Harvard Debate Council, to coach the Finnish team. They met weekly via Teams to prepare for the event and to share research on the debate topic: Should Finland adopt U.S. gun laws?
Lamarr also coordinated and moderated the debate, using Wordly AI for translation to ensure communication between the prison participants in Finland and their university counterparts in the United States. The app provided subtitles, translating Finnish to English and English to Finnish in real-time.
The Helsingin Sanomat article, titled “An Unusual Debate,” highlights this unique debate opportunity and the benefits it provides to all participants. It showcases how the program helps prisoners improve their public speaking, critical thinking, and teamwork skills, while also fostering personal development and opening doors to future opportunities. The full article is available in PDF form in English below: