University Penitentiary Poles: national assembly in Sassari

The assembly of the National University Conference of Penitentiary Centers (CNUPP), a body established in 2018 within the CRUI to coordinate the Italian universities involved in teaching activities within penal institutions, will be held in Sassari from 28 to 30 May. The initiative is organized by the Penitentiary University Center (PUP) of the University of Sassari, coordinated by Emmanuele Farris, member of the CNUPP Board of Directors, in close collaboration with the CNUPP and with the fundamental contribution of the ERSU of Sassari chaired by Daniele Maoddi, member of the Andisu national executive committee with responsibility for inclusion and social policies.  The Regional Department of Penitentiary Administration (PRAP), the Inter-district Office for External Penal Execution (UIEPE), the Juvenile Justice Center (CGM), the Sardinia Foundation, the Porto Conte Special Park Agency and the Antigone and Oltre i Muri associations also collaborate. 55 Italian public and private universities join the CNUPP, chaired by Giancarlo Monina of the Roma Tre University, in order to facilitate access to university studies for almost 2 thousand people subjected to measures by the judicial authority, mainly in a prison context. The University of Sassari has been operating in the penitentiary context for decades, formally established its own PUP in 2014 and has been represented on the CNUPP National Council since 2018.

The comment of the Rector of Uniss Gavino Mariotti

“Currently the number of students with limitations on personal freedom enrolled at the University of Sassari remains between 60 and 70 regular students – states the Rector Gavino Mariotti – In the academic year 2025-2026, despite the consequences linked to the displacement of the Nuoro prison ordered by the DAP at the end of 2025, the University of Sassari registers for the first time students coming from all segments of the Italian penal system, from juvenile justice to 41-bis regime. In the last five years, 25 inmates or former inmates have graduated from the University of Sassari.

The program for May 28th in the University's main hall

The works will open on the afternoon of Thursday 28 May, at 3 pm in the Aula Magna of the Rectorate of the University of Sassari, with institutional greetings from the Magnificent Rector Gavino Mariotti, representatives of the Ministry of University and Research, the Ministry of Justice, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, ERSU Sassari, PRAP, UIEPE and CGM, Andisu. This will be followed by the presentation of the CNUPP 2026 annual report by the President of the CNUPP, which will also be attended by the General Director of Prisoners and Treatment of the DAP, Ernesto Napolillo and the General Director of the Right to Education of the MUR, Luisa Antonella De Paola.

The program of May 29th at the ERSU Sassari headquarters: signature between CNUPP and ANDISU

Particularly significant will be the appointment on Friday 29 May, at 9.30 am in the conference room of ERSU Sassari, dedicated to the round table " Social inclusion and right to study the meeting will be attended by the President of ANDISU (National Association of bodies for the Right to University Education) Emilio Di Marzio, the President of the CNUPP, the Regional Superintendent of the Penitentiary Administration Domenico Arena, the Director of the District Office of External Criminal Enforcement of Sassari Carmen Magistro, the President of the "Work, culture and professional training" Commission of the Regional Council Camilla Soru, the President of ERSU Sassari Daniele Maoddi and the regional guarantor of people deprived of personal liberty Irene Testa. During the morning, the collaboration protocol between CNUPP and ANDISU will also be signed, aimed at strengthening and promoting forms of collaboration and exchange of good practices on a national scale between the prison university centers and the bodies for the right to university education. It represents one of the central moments of the national assembly and is part of the experiences gained in Sassari territory through the collaboration between the University of Sassari and ERSU within the local PUP.

The morning will end with the testimonies of prisoners and former prisoners, who will share their experiences on the role of the studio in the paths of social inclusion and reintegration.

On the afternoon of Friday 29 May the CNUPP working groups will take place in the classrooms of the Department of Law of the University of Sassari.

The comment of ERSU president Daniele Maoddi

“ The CNUPP national assembly and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Cnup and Andisu in Sassari is a significant step for the Ersu of Sassari and for the entire Italian system of the right to education - declared the ERSU President Daniele Maoddi - our institution has a long history of collaboration with the local Penitentiary University Centre, a commitment which in 2024 the current Board of Directors has chosen to further strengthen through a structured partnership with the University of Sassari which provides, among other aspects, financial support to the Pup for the purchase of teaching materials and cultural activities, two accommodations in the Ersu residences and access to the university canteen for as many students under external criminal execution, enrolled in the centre. It is a precise political choice: to extend the value of the right to study to the human and existential peripheries, with particular attention in this case to detained students".

The program for May 30th in Bancali

The assembly will end on the morning of Saturday 30 May with a round table in the Bancali prison on "Prison, University and Territory" and a subsequent visit to Casa Gioiosa, home of the Porto Conte Regional Park, with a reflection on Penal Colonies as an alternative method of penal execution.

photo caption: The CNUPP Board of Directors in office (2024-27), from left: Francesca Vianello, University of Padua; Teresa Consoli, University of Catania; Giancarlo Monina, President, Roma Tre University; Vincenza Pellegrino, University of Parma; Emmanuele Farris, University of Sassari.