Thierry Charlois

French Harm Reduction Conference 2012

The French Harm Reduction Association will hold its 4th Harm Reduction Conference in Paris on Octobre 25-26. This year, the political change in France will of course have an impact on the conference programme. It's time to propose a new policy in France...

In the framework of the ACCESS project, I am responsible of organising a workshop on harm reduction and continuity of care for drug users in prison.

More info...

Metropolitan conference on drugs in Aubervilliers, France

On November 24th-25th, 2011, the city of Paris, the council of Seine-Saint-Denis and the French Forum for Urban Security organised a conference on "drugs and risky behaviours: which policy? which prevention?".

This conference was a follow up of a ongoing cooperation between Paris and the Seine-Saint-Denis for practice sharing on drugs, risky behaviours and drug trafficking.

In the framework of the conference, I contributed to the session on global and European drug policies.

> Read the conference report HERE

Recommendation for safer nightlife in Europe

In the framework of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs contribution to the next EU Drug Strategy, I wrote a recommendation for safer nightlife in Europe on behalf the French Harm Reduction Association.

This recommendation is actually a annex to the Forum's recommendation on EU drug policy presented in April 2012 to the European Council.

We will see by the end of 2012 if this recommendation will have an impact on the next EU Drug Strategy...

> Read the recommendation on safer nightlife HERE

> Read the Forum's recommendation on EU drug policy HERE

The Party+ Network

The PARTY+ Network was created by four safer nightlife Labels and Charters: Quality Nights in Belgium, Fêtez Clairs in France, Q de Festa ! in Spain and Safer Clubbing in Switzerland.

The PARTY+ network aims to improve nightlife settings through community empowerment among European cities and regions by implementing qualty Labels and Charters for nightlife venues and by enhancing existing ones.

As Fêtez Clairs project manager, I am involved in the Party+ steering committee and in expert visits proposed to cities and regions.

The 1st European Harm Reduction Meeting

The European Harm Reduction Network (EuroHRN) has been recently formed by ten organisations with a shared interest in advocating for and sharing knowledge on drug-related harm reduction.

The 1^st European Harm Reduction Meeting, co-organised by the EuroHRN, the AFR and the city of Marseille, was organized in Marseille on October 6th-7th, 2011. Through plenary sessions and capacity building workshops, the meeting gathered the network's members and concerned stakeholders with the aim of:

• Sharing an assessment on the harm reduction situation within Europe;
• Improving the EuroHRN sub-regional networks (Southern, Northern and Central-Eastern European networks);
• Developing the European Drug Users Network;
• Enhancing the partnership between the harm reduction field and the local elected officials based on the experiences from consumption rooms' implementation;
• Advocating for a drug policy reform;
• Improving our networking and building our future together…

As consultant, I helped the AFR to take part in the project and to organise the meeting (programme building, partnership coordination).

> read the report of conference...

More information on http://www.eurohrn.eu/

The Prowfile project

APDES, AFR and 10 other European organisations working in the harm reduction field have submitted with success an application to the Leonardo programme. The goal of this 2-year project is to identify the basic guidelines and contents for the training of outreach workers on harm reduction. 350 participants from 12 European countries will take part in 17 meetinsg and visits across Europe in order to contribute to the development and dissemination of a training manual.

As coordinator of the AFR international partnerships working group, I manage the participation of the organisation within the project.

Access to treatment and harm reduction for drug users in custody

The ACCESS project is a European initiative aimed at bringing together organisations from different EU member states to contribute to the knowledge base and practice of harm reduction services, with the aim of improving access to treatment for drug users within the criminal justice system in European countries.

ACCES has received co-funding through the EU Drugs Prevention and Information Programme for the period 2011-2012. The project will work to:

1. Widen knowledge of harm reduction in prison, through research activities;
2. Increase awareness and improve capacity of staff working in prison regarding harm reduction and treatment models, through 2 training academies;
3. Support experiential learning on implementation of harm reduction and treatment services in the CJS, through placements and study visits;
4. Disseminate information and evidence on harm reduction and treatment for drug users in the CJS to a wide European audience, through web site; newsletter; newsflash, final conference.

The French Harm Reduction Association (AFR) is involved as partner in the ACCESS project. As a consultant, I support the AFR's participation in the project.