“Der Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband Landesverband Berlin e.V. (PARITÄTISCHER Berlin)" is an umbrella association linking together some 700 charitable organisations. Among these members, there are14 organisations offering support for victims and for witnesses of crimes on the one hand and helping (former) offenders during imprisonment and after release to succesfully reintegrate into society on the other hand. Staff of PARITÄTISCHER Berlin member organisations is working both inside and outside prisons, thus building bridges between these different worlds. They are supported in their work by the “Department for offenders and victim support” of PARITÄTISCHER Berlin. The member organisations who are active in these fields stand out due to preventive and sustainable provisions for particular vulnerable and marginalised target groups. To further develop and to improve their provisions, in the context of the planned mobility project, staff of PARITÄTISCHER Berlin and its member organisations will learn from experiences already made in two different European Member States. The main focus of the planned project actives is on the European exchange of experiences. The search for opportunites to improve the support for victims of crime or for succesful reintegration strategies for (ex-) offenders is not only a national or regional topic, but the responsible institutions are dealing with these issues on a Europe-wide scale too. Regardless of common aims and objectives, however, the respective approaches as well as the famework conditions differ remarkably between the countries. It is therefore not possible to transfer just one model congruently from one system to another. Is is nevertheless expected that the professional competences of the project participants will be further developed, and that professional suggestions for the Berlin system of victim and offenders support will result from the exchange of knowledge. Victim support organisations and penitentiary facilities as well as institutions where professionals from both fields are collaborating with each other will be visited in the partner countries. Regarding the support of victims and witnesses of crime, among others, the study visits participants will make themselves familiar with the model of "psychosocial guidance during court proceedings". In Austria, this provision exists for several years already and as it has shown that it is very well accepted. In terms of improved protection measures for victims, the so called "proactive" approach has also turned out to be particularly effective: in the Netherlands, judges, public prosecutors, the police and victim support organisations work closely together to support victims interests. In the area of offenders support, for example, the model of "Facharbeiterintensivausbildung" (particular short but intense vocational training) in prisons will be highly interesting for the project participants. As it has shown, a high share of former inmates who have participated in these trainings could find a job after release from prison, which has demonstrably contributed to their successful reintegration. Not least, the project participants will get to know the the wholistic aftercare-approach targeted at former prisoners as it is practised in the Netherlands and which is based on an institutional agreement between the responsible ministries and municipalities. This approach is deemed to be exemplary and there will be helpful suggestions result from the visit for the Berlin justice system in terms of strategies to prevent recividism and for an improved social integration of (ex)offenders. Through the transnational exchange with professionals fro Austria and from the Netherlands, the project participants will be provided with the opportunity to get an inside into the respective justice systems. These learning experiences will contribute to the piloting and introduction of innovative approaches regarding victim protection and offender support in Berlin. There will be study visits into both countries organised for 12 to 13 participants. Those participants will be mainly social workers supporting both victims and witnesses of crime and (former) offenders. In the context of the planned European study visits, the participants will get to know well-approved approaches, methods and instruments. They will also identify best practice examples to be adapted, thereby always considering the respective national and regional framework conditions. The gathered learning results will be dissiminated within the PARITÄTISCHER Berlin member organisations represented in the project, within their professional networks and the public, as well as within administrative and political decision makers. The overall aim is to sustainably improve victim protection measures and offender support strategies preventing crime in Berlin.