Side events

Lisbon Addictions 2024 provides a unique networking opportunity for researchers, practitioners and policy experts across countries and disciplines. In the margins of the conference, various side events will take place. We will be updating this page as more information on these events becomes available.

Testing the Waters 7 conference

Date: 21 October, afternoon and 22 October 2024
Location: LxAddictions conference site

The conference aims to convene experts to explore wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a crucial monitoring tool in the ever-changing landscape of substance use. The conference will cover several key themes, including the monitoring of illicit drugs, including new psychoactive substances, and alcohol use. Topics will encompass assessing long-term trends and spatial variations in substance use, as well as presenting new analytical methods and enhancements to WBE approaches. Additionally, discussions will address the future perspectives of WBE, including its potential impact on regulations and policy evaluation.

Registration will open on the 20th of June. Abstract submission is open and information on the preparation (abstract template) and submission can be found on the Testing the Water website.

Symposium on Gender and Drugs

Date: 22 October 2024
Location: LxAddictions conference site

The European Group on Gender and Drugs (EDG), coordinated by the EMCDDA and the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe, together with UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute), EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality) and several drug experts from different countries, is organising the second symposium on gender and drugs on 22 October 2024 in the Lisbon Congress Centre.

The 2022 symposium set up the scene and critically examined key concepts and issues on gender and drugs and this year we would like to make a step forward. The second event aims to move towards the practice, discussing evidence-based practices for gender responsive interventions in the drug field and identifying key recommendations.

Topics discussed this year will be: minimum quality standards; gender-related stigma; data collection and monitoring; trauma informed interventions; masculinities; Intersectionalities and gender diversities, parenthood and drugs.

Examples of good practices and trauma informed interventions using yoga as well as a social event organised with a users’ association will be important part of the event. A call for good practices and the registration form will be available in the next weeks.

The event is open and has no fee for registration. Registration will be open soon.

In the next weeks a call for examples of good practices in the field of gender and drugs will also be launched.

Furthermore, the European Group on Gender and Drugs (EDG) jointly with the Health Without Barriers Federation (HWB) organise an event in the afternoon on the 21/10 (from 14.30 to 17.30) on “Women and prison: addressing the invisible needs of women in prison”. The event will take place at LxAddictions conference site. More details will be provided soon.

For more information please contact: gender_drugs@emcdda.europa.eu

Workshop on prevention and control of drug-related infectious diseases among people who inject drugs

Date: 22 October 2024, morning
Location: LxAddictions conference site

In 2023 the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) published an update of the 2011 Public health guidance on prevention and control of infectious diseases among people who inject drugs. The guidance aims to support policy-makers and public health programme managers and planners by making available the evidence base for developing national strategies, policies, and programmes for a population of people who inject drugs that is particularly vulnerable to drug-related infectious diseases such as HIV and viral hepatitis.

The side-event, co-organised by EMCDDA’s EU4Monitoring Drugs II international technical cooperation project, and the ECDC, has been designed for policymakers, infectious diseases experts, and representatives from the civil society organisations from eastern European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) area countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) and is by invitation only.

HCV Intervention Implementation Workshop

Date: 22 October 2024, afternoon
Location: LxAddictions conference site

The half-day Intervention Workshop will focus on the practical implementation of evidence-based HCV interventions such as point-of-care testing, dried blood spot testing, peer support, patient navigation and case finding.

The workshop is intended for anyone interested in implementing or scaling up HCV interventions in their service setting, including healthcare providers, community members and policymakers from a variety of settings, e.g. primary care, drug and alcohol services, corrections, outreach, homelessness, mental health, needle and syringe services & health departments.

The event will showcase good practice interventions and models of care, highlighting key research, challenges and learnings in a collaborative coaching environment, with the aim of supporting participants to develop or enhance their own HCV models of care. In addition the Increase access to hepatitis C (HCV) testing and care in drug services toolkit will be presented.

After attending this event, you will be able to:

• Identify areas for enhancing or scaling up your HCV service delivery
• Understand how a variety of interventions work
• Identify suitable interventions for your service
• Describe how the intervention could be implemented in your service setting
• Analyse possible barriers to implementing interventions and how to overcome them

The workshop is delivered by the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU) in collaboration with EMCDDA.

Register here Registration form

For more information contact Emma Day.

The OPTIMUS opioid use disorder treatment outcomes consensus

Date: 22 October 2024
Location: LxAddictions conference site

The OPTIMUS group is developing international consensus guidance for monitoring opioid disorder treatment outcomes (see guidance, questionnaire). In this side event of Lisbon Addictions we will take stock of progress so far (e.g. results of our Delphi study) and discuss our next steps. The meeting is open to other conference delegates interested in the topic.

For more information please contact Lucas Wiessing. 

Civil Society Consultation Meeting

Date: 22 October 2024
Location: LxAddictions conference site

This consultation meeting aims to promote a deeper understanding and cooperation between the EU Drugs Agency and civil society stakeholders. The event will bring together EU institutions, academia, policymakers and civil society representatives to share ideas, views and to explore best practices, mechanisms, and measures to enhance collaboration and engagement in addressing the drugs phenomenon.

The meeting will be upon invitation only.

Drug early warning systems: Resilience for the future

Date: 22 October 2024
Location: LxAddictions conference site

The new psychoactive substances (NPS) market is characterised by complexity and increased integration with the market for established controlled drugs. The market continues to grow, is globalised, resilient, highly dynamic, and rapidly adapts to attempts to disrupt it. Because of this, NPS continue to pose a major threat to public health.

Early warning systems are essential to exchange information, as well as detect, assess, alert, and respond to emerging threats in a timely and effective way in order to prevent or reduce the public health and social harms caused by NPS. There is a need to build, maintain, and strengthen drug early warning systems that support preparedness and responses to NPS and provide resilience for the future.

 The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and reflect on:

• The current situation and recent changes in the NPS market,
• the challenges faced, and what the future may look like,
• the accomplishments, experiences gained, and lessons learnt,
• how drug early warning systems can be better prepared to ensure effective responses to these threats,

Participation by invitation only.

Xchange Review Board annual meeting

Date: 22 October 2024, afternoon
Location: LxAddictions conference site

Launched in 2017, Xchange is an online registry of evidence-based prevention programmes showcasing interventions that European evaluation studies demonstrate to have promising outcomes relating to substance use. The Xchange Review Board meets once a year to update the evidence rating scores of existing, or new, Xchange entries. This year’s meeting will be held during Lisbon Addictions 2024. The Board is composed of the two members of the EMCDDA Scientific Committee, two board members of the European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR), an early career researcher of the EUSPR and two EMCDDA scientific staff members.

The Nordmann Award meeting 2024