9m² – Forest Prison 

Questioning Confinement

Founded in 2022 following the announcement of the closure of Forest prison, the non-profit organization 9m² brings together engaged citizens, researchers, former detainees and professionals around an innovative project: transforming this former detention site into a space for critical reflection on confinement and criminal justice in Belgium. 

With more than 13,000 incarcerated people in Belgium and considering those deprived of liberty for other reasons (psychiatric disorders, migrants,…), the social impact of confinement is considerable. Our goal is to make visible what usually remains invisible or even hidden, to deconstruct prejudices and to open the debate on alternatives to the “all-prison” approach. 

Prepare Your Visit

Our Missions

Educate and Raise Awareness

We offer immersive guided tours accompanied by people with direct or indirect experience of prison (criminologists, historians, lawyers, former detainees, prison staff, prison visitors). Depending on opportunities, temporary exhibitions and educational tools will be developed. 

The objective: to help understand the realities of confinement beyond stereotypes and to stimulate reflection on the issues raised by deprivation of liberty. 

Debate and Question

9m² aims to be a space for citizen dialogue where different viewpoints on criminal justice and deprivation of liberty can be exchanged. Through meetings, debates and participatory activities, we ask: is prison the only solution? Who does it really punish? What are the alternatives? What are the effects of deprivation of liberty on those who endure it as well as on society as a whole?

Research and Valorize

Our members – historians, lawyers, anthropologists, former detainees, educators,… – develop research on the Belgian prison system, valorize the emblematic architecture of Forest prison (late 19th-early 20th century), collect testimonies from actors in the penitentiary system and organize conferences and publications. 

Our Immersive and Interdisciplinary Approach 

The innovation of our approach lies in the immersive experience: visitors enter a real prison, meet people with experiential knowledge and actively participate in collective reflection. No reconstruction, but the raw reality of a place laden with history(ies). 

Our participatory pedagogies give voice to those who have experienced confinement, build collective knowledge and allow everyone to confront their mental representations. 

Our Values

We believe it is possible to transform a place symbolizing repression into a space for liberation of perspective and thought. By opening the doors of a usually closed world, we aim for a dual impact: locally, through the reintegration of former detainees active in our project; globally, through the evolution of mindsets and penitentiary policies. 

Our Audiences

Young people from 14 years old, students (law, criminology, specialized education, social work), professionals in justice and the prison system, families, associations, citizens: 9m² addresses all those who wish to understand what happens/is hidden behind the walls.