Towards a new vision in preventing, treating and controlling addiction

International workshop “Advancing knowledge, sharing best practices, building consensus”

Rome, 26 July 2011. The international workshop "Advancing knowledge, sharing best practices, building consensus " which will take place in Rome on Tuesday 26 July 2011 at Palazzo Chigi, Via Santa Maria, 37 represents the launch of the Italian Scientific Community on Addiction.
Promoted by the Department for Antidrug Policies in collaboration with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute - UNICRI - and the Italian Ministry of Health, the Community aims to respond to the need for a new and advanced model of intervention to prevent, treat and control addiction through innovative research, policy and information sharing.
The Scientific Community on Addiction project aims to establish a community network of professionals, researchers and policy makers that can create a knowledge driven environment to facilitate the exchange of information, best practices and experiences to better and more efficiently translate the results of research into practice. The Scientific Community promotes a holistic vision, integrating different disciplines and approaches, based on the evidence of neuroscience and combined with the analysis of the psychological, social and economic contexts in which addiction develops.
The Scientific Community is developing a series of tools such as: websites, a scientific periodical and an institutionally accredited advanced education programme.
The activities will be carried out through a website portal, in English and in Italian. The target countries are Italy, the Middle East and North Africa countries, with a possible enlargement to China and the Russian Federation. The project also envisages activities in collaboration with the US National Institute on Drug Abuse.
This initiative, by benefiting from its cross-cutting approach and from its international network of experts, has the potential to become a model for other countries that may need to implement effective health and social policies in the field of addiction prevention and care.
The conference which represents the first meeting of the Community, envisages the participation of, among others, the following speakers: Lucio Annunziato - President of the Italian Society of Neuroscience; Antonello Bonci - Scientific Director, Intramural Research Programme, IRP National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, USA; Gilberto Gerra - Chief, UNODC Drug Prevention and Health Branch; Fabrizio Oleari - Head, Prevention and Communication Department, Italian Ministry of Health; Jonathan Lucas - Director UNICRI; Kevin Sabet - Senior Adviser to the Director, White House Office on National Drug Control Policy; Fabrizio Schifano - Professor, Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, School of Pharmacy University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom; Giovanni Serpelloni, Head of the Italian Department of Antidrug Policies, Presidency of the Council of Ministers; Elisabetta Simeoni, Director General for the Technical and Scientific Area, Department for Antidrug Policy, Presidency of the Council of Ministers; Giovanni Tria - President, Superior School of Public Administration, Italy; Nora Volkow, Director, USA National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA; Massimo Zennaro, Director General Department for the students - Ministry of Education, University and Research.


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