Little things mean a lot: 6h European Harm Reduction Conference video highlights
At its bi-annual gathering the European harm reduction movement addressed the multiple challenges of our time: rising populism, shrinking space for civil society, changing drug markets and changing needs of people who use drugs. Watch our film we produced at the conference!
The 6th European Harm Reduction Conference took place at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland, on 2-4 December 2024. As Alex Lakhov, director of the European Network of People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD) mentioned in his speech, to have this conference at this venue, built during Stalin’s years to represent totalitarian power, is a message of defiance. It would make Stalin furious to see that people discuss human rights under the roof of his former palace. Unfortunately it is not only the architecture of totalitarianism that survived but the spirit of Stalin is also alive and well. Civil society activists face the new threats of populism and repressive policies across Europe. The Drugreporter team filmed some key moments and interviewed several participants to learn how harm reductionists respond to new challenges in various European countries – please watch and share our conference video!
The conference marked the 20th anniversary of its main organiser, the Correlation European Harm Reduction Network (C-EHRN). On this occasion, the network published a report with the title “Correlation – The First Twenty Years“, highlighting a selection of key people and organisations. It is my honour that as one of the founder of Drugreporter, I am one of them. Happy birthday Correlation!
Video summary
Main conference
Opening Session + Polish Drug Policy: Persistence and determination towards drug law reform and putting people who use drugs at the centre.
European Policy Dialogue
Global paradigm shift: navigating human rights in drug policy reform
Medication assisted therapies in EECA: status and progress
Drug Consumption Rooms in Europe
Legally grey? Discovering loopholes in the national laws for drug checking services
Cannabis regulation and harm reduction
War in Ukraine
Scaling up HIV and HCV prevention treatment and care in community-based settings
Think Global, Act Local – the important role of cities in innovating drug policy and practice + Wrap-Up Session
Satellite Event: Dealing with drugs II – Cities and the international pursuit of sensible regulation
Opening
How to regulate substances: detailed blueprints for local level experiments
Closing debate