26th Harm Reduction International Conference (HR19) Porto, Portugal | 28 April - 1 May 2019
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Welcome to HR19!
HR19 will be 2019’s largest international harm reduction event, bringing together over 1,000 people from around the world working at the heart of harm reduction and drug policy. Over four days of presentations, workshops, films, networking events and more, the conference will continue its history of providing a dynamic forum to share the latest research and discussions on best practice in drug use, harm reduction and human rights.
Twenty-nine years after the first Harm Reduction International conference, HR19’s timing and location takes on a special importance. The global debate on drugs and harm reduction has drastically changed since 1990. Many governments now openly acknowledge the shortcomings of punitive drug laws and some are moving toward reform, including the implementation of cost-effective, lifesaving harm reduction measures. Portugal stands at the forefront of this - the country’s decriminalisation mode, implemented in 2001, is often celebrated as an example of how to protect the health and human rights of people who use drugs.
Despite progress in the global debate, reform in many places remains far off. HR19 will be a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the public health and rights advances made under Portugal’s model. The conference theme, ‘People before Politics,’ will underpin all HR19 activities and highlight the importance of putting public health and people’s lives before political ideology.
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Venue
HR19 will take place at the Alfândega Porto Congress Centre. Located in the historic centre of the city of Porto, along the bank of the Douro River, the Alfândega was renovated under the direction of award-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. Its spaces are ideal for our biennial gathering, with a spectacular, dedicated exhibition space.
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Conference History
The Harm Reduction International Conference, convened by Harm Reduction International in a different city every two-years, attracts around 1,000 international delegates and has been held in almost every region of the world. Since the first conference in 1990, it has become the focal point for knowledge sharing, networking and promoting evidence-based best practice in the field of harm reduction. The delegates include front line health workers, researchers, policy makers, politicians, UN representatives, people who use drugs and people working in criminal justice. Conference events have helped to put harm reduction on the map and to coordinate advances, innovations, evidence and advocacy in this field for almost three decades.
You can find information about our previous conferences here.
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Conference Organisers
About Harm Reduction International
Harm Reduction International is a leading NGO dedicated to reducing the negative health, social and legal impacts of drug use and drug policy. We promote the rights of people who use drugs and their communities through research and advocacy to help achieve a world where drug policies and laws contribute to healthier, safer societies.
About Agência Piaget para o Desenvolvimento
APDES is a Portuguese NGDO, working with vulnerable people and communities, and promoting universal access to healthcare, employment and education. Founded in 2004, one of its aims is the empowerment of people and institutions, within national, European and African continents, working with diverse populations such as PWUD, sex workers, inmates, children, youngsters and families. APDES´s profile is oriented to providing proximal intervention to vulnerable people and communities, to producing research on social and healthcare realities, and advocating for fair policies in these areas. APDES has been playing an important role in the national landscape by innovating in several intervention fields, such as the drug phenomenon and Harm Reduction, and in its work with numerous international partners in the development of research and intervention networks.
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HR21: Call for Tenders
Harm Reduction International is currently accepting tenders from capable, local partners with the capacity and enthusiasm to co-host the next Harm Reduction International Conference, to be held in April/May/June of 2021.
Please click here for further details.
