Welcome to the New
Year’s issue of the newsletter for the 18th International
Conference for the Reduction of Drug Related Harm
- The Executive Programme Committee (EPC) met in
Warsaw for the Programme Marathon in early December to construct the
programme, which comprises presentations from invited speakers and
sessions combining presentations selected from the over 1,000 abstracts
submitted from around the world, as well as a selection of posters and
‘living room’ sessions.
The quality of the abstracts received was generally very high and we
would like to thank all of those who submitted, as well as all those members of
the International Programme Advisory Group (IPAG) who took the time to peer
review the material and make recommendations to the EPC.
The Draft Programme for the 18th International Conference on
the Reduction of Drug Related Harm is now posted on the conference website. Go
to www.harmreduction2007.org and
use the PROGRAMME button on the left-hand side menu for further details
Invitations to present at the conference have now been sent out and alerts
and updates about the programme as it develops will be posted on the website between
now and the conference.
- The ‘early-bird’ registration fee
offers you a discount of €100 on each registration where payment is
made before 15th
January 2007. To register click on www.harmreduction2007.org/conftool/
. If you require a visa to enter Poland, please contact the
Conference Secretariat [log in to unmask]
and we will supply you with a letter of invitation to assist with the
application process.
With over 1000 individuals provisionally registered for the conference,
we anticipate demand for places to be very high. One further advantage of early
registration is the choice to reserve accommodation in the hotel on the
conference site, or those adjacent to it. Visit www.harmreduction2007.org and use
the ACCOMMODATION button on the website menu for more details.
- "The Drugs and Harm Reduction" Film
Festival now in its fourth year appears to have become a valuable fixture
of this conference. The Warsaw IHRC 2007 Film Festival will uphold this
proud tradition by seeking to provide unique perspectives on the
significant issues of harm reduction, drug use, minorities, poverty, organised
crime and human rights as seen through the film-makers’ lens. For
the fourth year in a row, Simon Baldwin,
Gary Reid and Peter Higgs of Australia’s
Burnet Institute will bring the film festival to life through their call
for films and their extraordinary film selection. The film festival will
be integrated into the conference programme as a parallel track. For
information on the previous three film festivals, please visit http://www.chr.asn.au/resources/filmfest
. A
Call for Films and Film Submission Form has now been issued and is
available for download at http://www.harmreduction2007.org/downloads/Film_Submission2007_Form.pdf
. Please note that the deadline for film festival
submissions is the 15th
of January 2007.
- There are still opportunities for sponsorship and
to exhibit at the conference. For more details of these please contact Sue
Kucuk at Weave Consulting ([log in to unmask])
or visit the website www.weaveconsulting.com
where you will find brochures containing information about the
opportunities available.
IHRA and the Conference Consortium would like to thank the following
organisations and individuals for their support to date: Polish Prison Service,
Polish Ministry of Health, Polish Central Bureau for Drug Prevention and
WHO-Europe, as well as sponsors and supporting organizations: Aids Foundation East-West,
Asian Harm Reduction Network, ASP Healthcare, Biolytical, Blackwell Publishing,
Breakline, Burnet Institute: Centre for Harm Reduction, Cadbury Wedel, Central
and Eastern Europe Harm Reduction Network, Compware, Deutsche Gesellshaft für
Suchtmedzin (vorm. DGDS) e. V. (in German), Discover Poland / Polish Travel Quo
Vadis, Drugscope, Exchange Supplies, Frontier Group, HIV/AIDS Alliance,
Ukraine, Informa, LOT Polish Airlines, the MONAR Association, Mosaic Training
& Consultancy, National Alliance of Methadone Advocates, Urban Anthropology
and Warsaw Destination Alliance. Further details can be found on the conference
website www.harmreduction2007.org
Kind Regards,
Artur Krol
IHRC 2007 Conference
Officer,
Conference Office & Secretariat
Wisniowa 50, IIIrd floor
02-520 Warsaw
Poland
Phone (UK): +44 208 123 99 81
Phone (PL):+48 22 640 82 71
Fax: +48 22 640 82 71
E-mail: [log in to unmask]