This paper evaluates the pilot phase of the Latin American Travelling Seminar (LATS) and describes the plans for the coming three years.
Chapter 1 is an introduction to LATS and described how LATS came about. In Latin America, there is a growing concern with the drug issue and a strong need of local authorities to be involved in policy making. People in the drug field often work in isolation and a growing number of policy makers and drug experts no longer accept the paradigm of drug supply reduction as the sole answer to the drug issue. In this sense, they rather follow the 1998 UNGASS resolution which clearly indicates the need for ample attention to drug demand reduction strategies.
It was in this climate, that the initiative for seminars on local drug policies in Latin American cities was taken and finally resulted in LATS.
Chapter 2 describes the preparation phase, which lasted from June to October 1999 and in which 7 cities were visited. During these visits, discussions took place with key persons and projects were visited.
Chapter 3 describes the pilot phase, which lasted from March 2000 to November 2000. In this phase three seminars were held, one in Curitiba, one in Santiago de Chile and one in Recife. Each seminar is described and evaluated. Furthermore, in this period, LATS was presented at two international conferences. The conclusions about the pilot phase were as follows:
Chapter 4 describes the future of LATS. Given the positive result of the pilot phase, it was decided that LATS should be continued. A clear advantage is that more Latin American cities will benefit from LATS and could be assisted in the creation of a sensible drug intervention system. The financial investments for having LATS are relatively low (maximum of 60,000 US$ per city). Therefore, we believe that any city in Latin America can afford it.
In the near future, LATS will continue working with the three cities of the pilot phase: Curitiba, Santiago de Chile and Recife. In the period 2001-2003, LATS plans to involve an additional 12 Latin American cities. Candidate cities can present a request to the LATS co-ordination. An outline for a proposal to be submitted by candidate cities is presented. Regarding the selection criteria of the 12 cities, first and foremost, this will be based on the quality of the proposal submitted. Furthermore, the proposal will be critically examined to determine whether:
To ensure that everybody is well informed about the latest developments, progress reports will be produced and distributed through internet (email groups and the website www.latseminar.org). Furthermore, at international meetings, such as the International Harm Reduction Conferences, the latest information about LATS will be presented.
Finally, in chapter 5 finances are discussed.
In the addendum, you can find the programmes of the various seminars, the evaluation sheet used, detailed information about the finances in the period 1999-2000 and an instruction for candidate cities.
The success of LATS was only possible through the commitment and work done by so many people in Latin America, Europe and the United States of America.
We would especially like to mention the contact-persons in the 7 cities involved, namely Silvia Inchaurraga in Rosario, Juan Leyton and Cecilia Peñaloza in Santiago de Chile, Jorge Hurtado in La Paz, Ruy Palhano in Sao Luis, Maria Luz Osimani in Montevideo, Sandra Batista in Curitiba and Ana Gloria Melcop in Recife.
We would also like to express our special gratitude to Pat O’Hare, Director of the International Harm Reduction Association and Fabio Mesquita, Vice-president of the International Harm Reduction Association, for their continued support.
Finally, we would especially like to thank all the organisations which have financially supported LATS and for the trust they had in our work. Without them, LATS would not have happened. The supporting organisations were: UNAIDS, RELARD/IHRA, SENAD-BRASIL, Brasilian Ministry of Health (in particular the National coordination on STD and Aids), GG&GD Amsterdam, State of Parana, Stichting de Regenboog , City of Santiago de Chile, Cruzada, Unifesp, Detran, Setrans, Infraero, Prefeitura de Recife e de Santo Agostinho, Tribunal de Justiça de Pernambuco.
Ernst Buning, International co-ordinator LATS Monica Gorgulho, Latin American co-ordinator LATSJanuary 2001
The first seed for the Latin American Travelling Seminar (LATS) was planted when the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) decided to organize the 9th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in March 1998. Over 1,000 drug experts from all over the world gathered in this event and many formal and informal contacts were made. Just prior to the conference the Latin American Harm Reduction Network (RELARD) was founded. In the discussions between Latin American drug experts and colleagues from other parts of the world it became apparent that Latin America was in a crucial phase regarding the development of a response to the drug problem. The following could be observed:
Based on the above, discussions took place on methods which could enable the development and further strengthening of a local response to the drug issue. In October 1998, six months after the Harm Reduction Conference in Sao Paulo, two other events took place: a drug conference in Buenos Aires, organized by the city of Buenos Aires and a meeting of Brazilian drug experts and some European and North American colleagues in Sao Paulo. In the Buenos Aires meeting, URB-AL, a cooperation project between Latin American and European cities on a number of issues (including the drug issue), was involved in the discussion. In the Sao Paulo meeting the Brazilian Harm Reduction network (Reduc) was founded and participants expressed their interest in initiatives to further develop local responses to the drug issues.
After these meetings, two persons involved, Ernst Buning, psychologist at the Amsterdam Municipal Health Service in the Netherlands and Mônica Gorgulho, psychologist at PROAD in Sao Paulo, Brazil, wrote a paper ‘Project proposal LATS, developing a local response to the drug problem: the Latin American travelling seminar, February 1999’. This paper was distributed among and discussed with a group of Latin American, North American and European drug experts. The paper gave a background and justification, described the objectives of the project, the strategy and methodology, the target groups and beneficiaries and the main project activities. Furthermore, the expected outcome was described and the organizations involved were listed. The paper proposed the following step-wise approach:
Preparation phase. In this phase the project proposal would be further discussed and Latin American cities would be visited to find out whether they would be interested in participating in LATS. Various cities would be asked to write a proposal for a local LATS and the international group would assess the proposals. In this phase, the finances for the pilot phase would be arranged as well.
Pilot phase. In this phase, three seminars would be carried out.
Evaluation. In this phase the three seminars would be evaluated both in terms of process as well as outcome.
In the following paragraphs we will further describe these three steps and come to a conclusion regarding the future of LATS.
In the period June to October 1999, the LATS team visited seven Latin American cities. It concerned: Rosario (Argentina), Santiago de Chile, La Paz (Bolivia), Sao Luis (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), Curitiba (Brazil) and Recife (Brazil). In each city, meetings were organized with key-persons, projects were visited and the general concept of LATS was explained. Discussions were held about the following issues:
It should be mentioned that all cities welcomed the LATS team in a very enthusiastic and professional way. The three-day visits were ‘booked’ from the early morning till the late evening with meetings, discussions and visits to projects. For the LATS team, it was apparent that all seven cities involved were extremely eager to take steps to further develop local drug policy and that they were pleased with the possibility of getting outside support through LATS.
Each city, which expressed interest in LATS was asked to present a proposal to the international group no later than December 1st 1999. The 7 city proposals were indeed received by December 1st and were distributed to the international advisory group. They assessed the proposal on the following criteria:
Based on the above, each one was asked to rate the proposal from one to seven. Based on these rating the following three cities were chosen for the pilot:
The cities were contacted and arrangements were made for having a seminar.
The pilot phase took place from March 2000 to November 2000. In concerned:
In this chapter we will describe the activities of this phase.
When the LATS team, consisting of Monica Gorgulho and Ernst Buning, first visited Curitiba in October 1999, it was obvious that all parties involved in the drug and Aids field were eager to have LATS in their city. A number of projects were visited, amongst which a special project for children and young adults and a harm reduction project which works in one of the slums of Curitiba. In a meeting at the Parana State Department of Health, a discussion was held with over 40 people, including the secretaries of State of Health, Justice and Education. The discussion focussed on local needs regarding the drugs and Aids issue. To the LATS team, it was clear that Curitiba was facing a serious drugs and Aids problem and that all parties involved (NGO’s, community groups and Governmental organizations) were ready to start working together and develop practical solutions. One of the issues, which withheld some of the concerned parties to be too enthusiastic about having LATS, was the wish to portrait their city as an ‘ideal’ city. And an ‘ideal’ city does not have a drug and Aids problem. However, other departments, such as the youth and the health departments had a different point of view and were enthusiastic about having LATS in Curitiba.
In the period October 1999- November 1999, a group of about 20 persons, representing 15 different organizations, started to develop a proposal to have LATS in Curitiba. One of the issues the group wanted to include was to learn from experiences from other parts of the world to empower their own actions. The topics to be discussed during the seminar were taken from the paper ‘Local drug policy’ as developed by the LATS team. These topics were: supply reduction, demand reduction, harm reduction and treatment. Moderators were selected based on availability and expertise and a list of invitation was conceived. The plan for LATS in Curitiba was presented to the international group before the deadline of 1st of December 1999. It was well written and clear in its objectives. The proposal was positively rated by the international group and it was decided to have the seminar in Curitiba as soon as possible. It was thought to be a good idea to have the first seminar before the International Harm Reduction Conference (April 2000 in Jersey), so that the first results could be presented. This time table put a lot of stress on the local organizers. However, the international group believed that 10 weeks preparation time should be sufficient since it concerned a local event. The local contact person agreed with this and started working with her group. It was decided that a maximum of 200 persons could participate. Invitations were done to all different institutes and organizations involved, stipulating clearly that participants had to follow the seminar all three days, that they should represent the organization or institute, that they would be able to review information and be available for further follow-up activities.
The first LATS took place in Curitiba, Brazil, on March 20, 21 and 23, 2000. It was organized by Sandra Batista from the Aids coordination of Paraná State.
LATS in Curitiba was a three day invitational meeting, with representatives from the following sections: community, therapeutic communities, popular forums, NGO’s, Guardian Council, Councils of Health, Child, Human Rights, Narcotics and professional categories, Municipal Secretaries of Health, Child, Women and Education, State Clerkships of Health, Education, Justice, Child and Family Issues, Universities, Legislative Assembly, City councils, Mayors of the metropolitan area, press, representatives of the state power and public prosecution.
The secretaries of Health, Education and Youth/family of the State of Parana opened the seminar.
During the first day and the second morning and the third morning, a number of plenary presentations were held, featuring local, national and international speakers. Speakers were:
In the afternoons of the second and third day, the 200 participants were divided into four subgroups to discuss the various elements of local drugs and Aids policy.
The facilitators for the subgroups and also for the plenary discussions were:
The program of the seminar is attached in the addendum.
For many, it was a new experience to hear what was going on in other parts of the world (and even sometimes to hear what was going on in their own city!) and to be able to discuss local policy in a working group. At the end of the seminar, the subgroups reported back to the plenary group about the results of the discussions held in those working groups. The following was concluded:
A number of concrete actions were the result of the seminar:
On June 5, 2000, the LATS team returned to Curitiba for an evaluation. The evaluation was organised by Sandra Batista from Curitiba. LATS was represented by Monica Gorgulho (Brazil) and Ernst Buning (The Netherlands).
The evaluation meeting was split into two part: in the morning with a small group of technical persons (14 people) and in the afternoon with a larger group where policy makers were included as well (26 people). Besides the results mentioned above, a number of issues which specifically concerned LATS were raised, such as:
In the final evaluation meeting in Rio de Janeiro, in November 2000, Sandra Batista presented a paper with plans for the future.
Conclusion about LATS in Curitiba
It can be concluded that the concept of LATS was welcomed in Curitiba. There is a clear need to change local drug & Aids policy in a more pragmatic and public health oriented way and to strengthen the co-operation between the parties involved.
The Curitiba team has worked very hard and very efficient to make optimal use of LATS. LATS was the first ‘domino stone’ to fall and triggered off an autonomous process in Parana State to change the drug intervention system towards a more effective, pragmatic and sensible system with amble involvement of the civil society.
LATS slogan ‘Local solutions for local problems’ seems to be extremely appropriate in Parana. Sandra Batista has requested the LATS team to return one year after the seminar and we are very curious to see and hear whether the positive results observed so far will be sustained in the near future.
The first visit by the LATS team (Monica Gorgulho and Ernst Buning) to Santiago de Chile was in June 1999. The visit was prepared by Juan Leyton, the co-ordinator of the network URB-AL. Various projects, such as a drug free treatment centre, a special community project for children in a slum of Santiago and a drug unit in a psychiatric hospital were visited. During the visit a number of meetings took place with key-persons in the drug policy making process. Based on the exchange of ideas and the explanation of the principles of LATS, interest was raised amongst the Santiago experts and they decided to present a proposal to the LATS co-ordination. This proposal was received before the deadline of December 1st 1999 and received a very positive rating from the international group.
The Chilean contact person was informed about the result of this rating by email, but unfortunately something went wrong with the electronic mail. Since the seminar was planned in June and no reaction was obtained, the LATS co-ordination made contact by telephone and fax. Juan Leyton asked the Municipal Drug Prevention Program to work with him on the preparation of the seminar and Cecilia Peñaloza accepted this role and played an essential role in the organisation of LATS in Santiago de Chile. One month before the seminar, an URB-AL meeting was held in Santiago. This meeting helped to identify important people who could participate at the seminar. Formal letters of invitation by the Mayor of Santiago, Jaine Ravinet de la Fuente, were sent. As an addendum to this invitation, information was included about the concept of LATS, its objectives, a description of the target group of this seminar, the themes which were going to be discussed and some logistic information.
The tasks in the preparation phase were as follows:
Arriendo de local |
Coordinador programa URB-AL. |
Gestión de finanzas |
Coordinador programa URB-AL |
Preparación Propuesta: |
Comisión antes mencionada |
Encargados de organización: |
Dirección ejecutiva Progr. Drogas Municipalidad Santiago. |
Selección panelistas y moderadores |
Comisión antes mencionada. |
Convocatoria Panelistas y moderadores: |
Cecilia Peñaloza, Mauricio Sepúlveda, Ibán de Rementería. |
Organización del programa |
Mauricio Sepúlveda, Cecilia Peñaloza. |
Convocatoria Autoridades |
Cecilia Peñaloza. |
Convocatoria Prensa |
Programa Drogas Santiago. |
| Convocatoria público | Dirección ejecutiva Programa Drogas. |
During the preparation phase, the local organisers could see a lot of interest by various sectors and a change in the way people looked at the drug issue in Santiago and the country as a whole. There were some complication in the division of labour between the Municipal Drug prevention Program and the URB-AL co-ordination.
The seminar Seminario internacional ‘Hacia una politica local sobre drogas’ took place on June 7 and 8, 2000 in Hotel Tupahue, in Santiago de Chile.
The representation was good in terms of quantity and quality: About two hundred organisations were invited and 150 were represented at the seminar. In total about 200 people participated in the seminar, representing various disciplines, expertise and professional levels. Both practical workers as well as policy makers attended the seminar.
In the opening session, presentations were given by the head of CONACE (the state bureau on drugs), a representative of the organisation of Chilean Municipalities, the representative of the mayor of Santiago and a representative of LATS.
In the second session, presentations were given about the drug problem in Chile and Latin America, both with statistics and sociological considerations (speakers: Iban de Rementeria and Mauricio Sepúlveda). These presentations were followed by a debate with the audience.
In the third session, experiences with harm-reduction in various parts of the world were presented. It concerned the following experts:
Sandra Batista also spoke about LATS in Curitiba and Patricia Flores also presented the Latin American Harm Reduction Network (RELARD).
The session with the harm-reduction experiences provided for ample space for debate with the audience.
On the second day of the seminar, attention was given to the specific situation in Chile. Amongst others, presentations were given by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the police and the health department of the Municipality of Santiago. This session was followed by a session about local drug policy, with representatives of the Chilean association of municipalities, the drug program of the city of Santiago, a representative of the Chilean Aids program and various NGO’s. The audience was actively involved in the discussion.
In the afternoon, Santiago Escobar and Iban de Rementeria summarised the presentations and discussions of the seminar and formulated the ingredients for a local drug policy in Santiago de Chile.
The seminar was closed by Juan Leyton, URB-AL co-ordinator, Gonçalo Vio, the representative of the Mayor of Santiago and Ernst Buning, representative of LATS.
In the afternoon, the creation of the Chilean Harm Reduction Network was announced.
The day after the seminar, the international guests participate in a discussion at the University about drugs. This was of the utmost relevance, since the University was facing problems with drug use and dealing at the campus and was in the process of developing a response to these problems.
3.2.1 Evaluation of LATS in Santiago
Immediately after the seminar, on Friday, June 9, a first evaluation was done by Juan Leyton, Cecilia Peñaloza, Monica Gorgulho and Ernst Buning.
In August, Monica Gorgulho and Ernst Buning returned to Santiago de Chile and spoke again with the organisers and also joint a meeting with the group which had formed the Chilean Harm Reduction Network.
The local organisers were asked to do a written evaluation (see letter in addendum) before the end of October 2000. This written evaluation would be used for the evaluation meeting in Rio de Janeiro. However, this written evaluation was not received prior to the evaluation meeting and the representative of Santiago did not show up in Rio de Janeiro. Later (December 2000 and January 2001) the written information was received. Based on the two evaluation meetings and the written material received, the following can be said:
3.2.2 Conclusion about LATS in Santiago
Compared to Europe and North America, Chile has a ‘moderate’ drug problem. However, the media, which are controlled by conservative forces, use the drug issue to install insecurity and fear in Chilean society and thus making way for the promotion of more repression. Progressive intellectuals, who consists partly of former political refugees, try to create a counter force. The concept of harm-reduction plays an important role in this effort of the progressive intellectuals, who promote the idea of self-control, normalisation and state that total abstinence is not the objective. LATS has played an important role for this group of people, and has put a process in motion. Given the reality in Chile, this will not be an easy process. However, those who are fighting for a more sensible public policy on drugs in Chile, know they can now count on the support of experts from other parts of the world and benefit from their international experience. The local organisers plan to publish a book which is based on the seminar. This book might play an important role in keeping the ‘momentum’ in Chile and could also be interesting for people in other Spanish speaking countries.
The LATS team visited Recife first in October 1999. Ana Gloria Melcop, the local contact person had organized a meeting which was attended by 85 persons from various sectors of society who were directly or indirectly working with the drug issue. It concerned representatives from the repression, treatment, prevention, public and private organizations, NGO’s, the juridical and legislative powers, military police officers, religious groups, community leaders and health and education officials. The meeting was supported by the Secretary of Justice and Citizenship of the State of Pernambuco and the meeting was also addressed by Dr. Walter Maierovitch, the then Anti Drug National Secretary.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the feasibility of having LATS in Recife and whether there was a genuine interest. The LATS team explained the general idea behind LATS and the group was divided in subgroups to discuss the proposal to have LATS in Recife. They all agreed that LATS would be beneficial for them and they formed a group of 15 persons representing different sectors to further develop a proposal for the International LATS group. This proposal was indeed presented to the International group before December 1st 1999.
During the first visit to Recife, some site visits were made: to a drug treatment center, an alcohol clinic, a human right activist group (GAJOP) and a female prison.
The International Group gave the Recife proposal a positive rating in February 2000. However, because of a misunderstanding, the Recife team was informed no earlier than May 2000, that LATS could be held in Recife and that the date chosen was the end of August. Furthermore, the international group wanted to see the total budget reduced and the number of participants reduced. Finally, these matters were solved. Once it was clear that LATS definitely would be held in Recife it was June 2000. This implied a relatively short period for preparation, which meant a lot of extra work and stress for a small group of people. They had to ‘drop’ other work and concentrate solely on LATS. Also, because of the limited time, there was not a lot of choice for the venue. This lead to having LATS in a relatively expensive hotel.
One of the comments from the local organization was that during the preparation the Latin American LATS contact person was three weeks on holiday and the communication with the European LATS contact person was difficult because of language problems. This situation made the local organizers feel a bit left on their own.
The people invited for the seminar were the 85 persons who attended the first meeting, plus all the sectors involved in the drug issue.
The local team worked hard on getting extra funding and managed to do so. All local speakers and moderators were selected by the local organization. The international group selected the international speakers.
The Seminar took place on August 30, 31 and September 1st. The logistics were first class: everybody received a folder with the LATS-Pernambuco logo on it, with the program, writing material etc. In the hall, various institutes displayed their material and sufficient staff was available to answer questions about the venue. There were around 220 participants from various segments, such as public and private institutions involved in the prevention and treatment of dependents, NGO’s, judiciary and legislative power, military police, religious groups, community leaders, state administration, professionals from the health and education areas and prisoners and teenagers. The program followed the original suggestions of the LATS paper, i.e. ‘what do we know’, ‘how do we respond’ and ‘towards a local policy on drugs’. The format of the seminar consisted of plenary lectures alternated with sessions of working groups. The plenary lectures addressed the following topics:
There were 6 working groups with different themes:
In the evenings, there were some special sessions, one on alcohol, drugs and traffic and another one with a discussion with teenagers. The last session was a bit confusing, since there were major differences in perception of the risks associated with the use of cannabis. Two European experts started a discussion with the teenagers and indicated to disagree with the slogan ‘marihuana kills’. This led to some confusion among the youngsters. Later on one of the organizers of this session mentioned that it had been helpful for the youngsters to hear other opinions. However, some of the local organizers believed that the international guests had too little consideration with the point of view of the youngsters and the reality in which they live.
The overall atmosphere was one of enthusiasm and interest. For many participants this was the first time to participate in an event like this. The last session was a special highlight of the three-day seminar. One of the subgroups ended their report to the plenary group with a dance and most of the participants joined this dance. After that, General Cardoso had a very inspiring speech in which he pleaded for more involvement of civil society and in which he openly expressed his support for the concept of harm-reduction. The last words in the closing ceremony were from a female prisoner. She read a short statement. Her shacking hands with General Cardoso best expressed the overall feeling of this seminar: people with different ideas and different backgrounds working together and being open-minded!
After the seminar, a group was formed of about 40 people. They met a number of times and they conceived and agreed upon the ‘Statement of Pernambuco on Harm Reduction’. This document clearly states the background and philosophy of harm-reduction. It is a ‘working document’ which will help the group to further rethink and elaborate their local policy on drugs and Aids.
Other activities which happened after the seminar were:
Since the period between the seminar and the evaluation was very short (2 months) it is impossible to make a final conclusion about LATS in Recife. However, it seems that the seminar has triggered of a number of activities. The team which was involved in the preparation of the seminar clearly indicated that they would need more support from the LATS team in the future and that they would appreciate to receive support in the organization of training on harm-reduction issues.
3.4 LATS sessions at international Conferences
At the 11th Harm Reduction Conference in Jersey and at Forum 2000 in Rio de Janeiro representatives of LATS presented their experience for an international audience. During the session in Jersey, Monica Gorgulho presented the general idea behind LATS. She also presented a short video with impressions of the visits to the 7 Latin American cities. Subsequently, Sandra Batista presented the first results of LATS in Curtiba. Robert Haemmig presented part of the presentation he did in Curitiba and also gave his impression of the seminar. The audience (about 35 persons) consisted mainly of experts from Latin America and they appreciated to get clear and consize information about LATS. The fact that most of the information was presented in Portuguese helped a lot.
At Forum 2000, LATS was presented by four persons and the session was chaired by Monica Gorgulho. Ernst Buning gave a short outline of the experience with LATS so far. Sandra Batista gave the audience an update of LATS in Curitiba. The representative from Chile did not arrive and his place was taken by Patricia Flores, who gave an excellent presentation about the impact of LATS in Santiago de Chile. The last presentation was done by Ana Gloria Melcop who spoke about LATS in Recife. The discussion with the audience (about 75 persons) concentrated on two items:
A website ‘www.latseminar.org’ was created. It concerns a three-language website (English, Portuguese and Spanish). Information is given about the following:
The website has been promoted at the various seminars and during the international conferences. With the website we hope that people get a clear idea about LATS and hope to raise interest in developing a local policy themselves.
The following conclusions can be made:
Given the positive result of the pilot phase, it was decided that LATS should be continued. A clear advantage is, that more Latin American cities will benefit from LATS and could be assisted in the creation of a sensible drug intervention system. The financial investments for having LATS are relatively low (maximum of 60,000 US$ per city). Therefore, we believe that any city in Latin America can afford it. Moreover, cities participating in LATS may benefit from the available international resources. These resources are intended for the international dimension of LATS, such as:
For LATS to be successful, there should be a clear local commitment, which also implies a willingness to spend money on drug policy development.
4.1 Continued work with the three cities already involved
In the near future, LATS will continue working with the three cities of the pilot phase: Curitiba, Santiago de Chile and Recife.
LATS’ involvement in these cities will depend on local needs and will be done in close co-operation with the local contact persons. These three cities will also be involved in LATS in other cities. In this way, other cities can benefit from the experiences with LATS in the three pilot cities, whilst at the same time, the pilot cities may benefit from experiences in the ‘new’ cities.
In the period 2001-2003, LATS plans to involve an additional 12 Latin American cities. Candidate cities, which are interested in having LATS, should submit a request to LATS and subsequently invite the LATS team to visit the city for a general orientation and need assessment. During this visit, the LATS team will speak with various parties involved and give advice whether LATS could be beneficial for this city. If so, the candidate city will be asked to write a proposal and submit this to the LATS co-ordination. In the addendum you can find a short paper entitled ‘Procedure for candidate cities’.
4.3 The proposal to be submitted
The proposal, which cities have to present to the LATS co-ordination, should be about 10 pages and discuss the following items:
A chapter about the local drugs and Aids problems and responses (2 pages). A chapter with expectation on how LATS could contribute to the development of a better response to the drug/Aid problem (1 page). One chapter should discuss the seminar (6 pages). This chapter has to contain the following elements:
In the final chapter (1 page), the finances should be discussed, with a clear indication on the local contribution and the expected contribution from LATS. The proposal should be submitted in English to the secretariat of LATS.
First and foremost, the criteria for selection of the 12 cities will be based on the quality of the proposal submitted. The proposal will be critically examined to determine whether:
The selection of the cities will be the responsibility of the LATS co-ordination. However, the LATS co-ordination will do this in close co-operation with the group of international experts involved in LATS, the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA), The Latin American Harm Reduction Network (RELARD), and the sponsoring agencies/organisations.
In the next 6 months, Montevideo, Sao Luis, La Paz and Rosario, the 4 cities which have already submitted a proposal, will be invited to present an update of their proposal, if they still wish to have a seminar.
To ensure that everybody is well informed about the developments, progress reports will be produced and distributed through internet (email groups and the website www.latseminar.org). Furthermore, at international meetings, such as the International Harm Reduction Conferences, the latest information about LATS will be presented.
In this paragraph, we summarize the expenses of the preparation phase and the pilot phase. In the addendum, more detailed information is provided.
5.1 Expenses in US dollars in period 1999-2000
Organisation |
travel |
Subsistence |
fees |
Total |
|
| Preparation | 7857 |
3933 |
3300 |
15090 |
|
| Curitiba | 20352 |
5754 |
3497 |
5625 |
35228 |
| Jersey | 1000 |
805 |
1805 |
||
| Santiago de Chile | 12351 |
6282 |
1215 |
4750 |
24598 |
| Recife | 31006 |
9769 |
3411 |
15633 |
59819 |
| Evaluation in Rio | 2700 |
1208 |
172 |
1000 |
5080 |
| Total | 66409 |
31870 |
13033 |
30308 |
141620 |
5.2 Income in US dollars in period 1999-2000
| GG&GD Amsterdam | 15090 |
| State of Parana | 23129 |
| Relard/UNAIDS for Curitiba | 5469 |
| Stichting de Regenboog for Curitiba | 6630 |
| RELARD/UNAIDS for Jersey meeting | 1805 |
| City of Santiago de Chile | 3160 |
| RELARD/UNAIDS for Santiago de Chile | 6328 |
| Stichting de Regenboog for Santiago | 15110 |
| Cruzada for Recife | 14387 |
| Unifesp for Recife | 7874 |
| Detran for Recife | 2500 |
| Setrans for Recife | 2500 |
| Infraero for Recife | 2000 |
| Prefeitura for Recife | 6320 |
| RELARD/UNAIDS for Recife | 2398 |
| Tribunal for Recife | 2500 |
| SENAD-BRASIL for Recife | 17508 |
| LATS coordination**** | 6912 |
| Total income | 141620 |
The future finances of LATS will be managed by Quest for Quality BV in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. LATS will need core funding to ensure the continuity of LATS (US$ 20,000 per year). Furthermore, it is proposed that from the central budget, a certain amount of money is contributed to participating cities to pay for the international dimension of LATS (a maximum of US$ 20,000 per city). Local authorities have to come up with the remaining amount of money (about US$ 40.000 per city). Of course, local authorities may request central governments for financial support and LATS will support such requests.
In summary:
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
Total period 2001-2003 |
|
| Core funding Q4Q | US$ 20.000 |
US$ 20.000 |
US$ 20.000 |
US$ 60.000 |
| Budget to support LATS in new cities (4 cities per year ad US$20.000 per city) |
US$ 80.000 |
US$ 80.000 |
US$ 80.000 |
US$ 240.000 |
| Continued work with cities already involved in LATS | US$ 30.000 |
US$ 30.000 |
US$ 30.000 |
US$ 90.000 |
| Input local authorities (4 cities per year ad. 40.000 US$ per city) |
US$ 160.000 |
US$ 160.000 |
US$ 160.000 |
US$ 480.000 |
| Total | US$ 290.000 |
US$ 290.000 |
US$ 290.000 |
US$ 870.000 |
| 20/03 | |
| 0900 – 9.45 | Abertura Oficial |
| 9.45 – 10.00 | Coffe Break |
| 10.00 – 11.00 | Apresentação dos problemas relacionados ao
uso indevido de drogas – Dr. Armando Raggio e Dr. Ernst Buning |
| 11.00 – 12.00 | Apresentação dos problemas relacionados ao uso indevido de drogas na Suiça – Dr. Robert Haemmig |
| 12.00 – 14.00 | Almoço |
| 14.00 –15.00 | Apresentação dos problemas relacionados ao uso indevido de drogas na Argentina – Dra Adriana Rossi |
| 15.00 – 15.45 | Apresentação dos problemas relacionados ao uso indevido de drogas nos Estados Unidos – Dra. Yael Van Hulst |
| 15.45 – 16.00 | Coffe break |
| 16.00 – 17.30 | Debate |
| 17.30 | Coquetel |
| 21/03 | |
| 09.00 – 9.45 | Aspectos jurídicos – legais – Dra. Maria Lucia Karan |
| 09.45 – 10.00 | Coffe Break |
| 10.00 – 12.00 | Experiênces brasileiras: Porto Alegre –
Dra. Mirtha Sudbrack Rede Sol – Dra. Tania Mascarenhas (Curitiba) Procaud – Dra. Maria Cecília Telles (Curitiba) |
| 12.00 – 14.00 | Almoço |
| 14.00 – 14.50 | Captura e recaptura – Dra. Waleska Caiaffa |
| 14.50 – 15.45 | Rapid Assessment – Dra. Graciela Touzé |
| 15.45 – 16.00 | Coffe break |
| 16.00 – 17.30 | Discusão em subgrupos |
| 17.30 | Apresentação musical |
| 22/03 | |
| 09.00 – 09.45 | Redução de Danos na Educação – Dra. Celi Cavalari |
| 09.45 – 10.00 | Coffe Break |
| 10.00 – 12.00 | Ingredientes de uma política de enfrentamento
das questões relacionadas ao uso indevido de drogas
Dr. Ernst Buning, Dra Mônica Gorgulho, Dra. Denise Gandolfi, Dra. Sandra Batista |
| 12.00 – 14.00 | Almoço |
| 14.00 – 15.45 | Discussão em subgroups |
| 15.45 – 16.00 | Coffe Break |
| 16.00 – 16.30 | Plenária Final |
| 16.30 – 17.30 | Encerramento |
Programme Seminar Santiago de Chile, June 7 and 8, 2000
Día 1: Mañana ¿Qué sabemos? |
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9:00 |
Apertura
Representante de :
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10:00 – 11:00 |
Presentación del problema de la droga en América Latina. ¿Cómo se construye el fenómeno en problema? Moderador : Ruth Simeone
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11:15 – 11:30 |
Café |
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11:30 – 13:00 |
Discusión de Grupos a partir de las ponencias anteriores. ¿Cómo estamos enfrentando el tema en nuestra intervención? |
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13:00 – 15:00 |
Almuerzo |
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Tarde : ¿Cómo respondemos? |
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15:00 – 17:00 |
Presentación de iniciativas, proyectos y experiencias laborales, que incorporan el enfoque de reducción de daño.
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17:00 – 17:30 |
Debate general. |
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Día 2: Hacia una política local sobre drogas. |
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9:00 – 10:30
10:30 – 12:00 |
Hacía una política local sobre drogas: Propuestas y viabilidad desde la realidad local. 1.Representantes desde el ámbito de la responsabilidad pública: Moderador : Francisco Rojas. CONACE
2. Representantes desde el ámbito local: Moderador: Remo Pompei
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12:00 – 13:00 |
Debate General. |
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13:00 – 15:00 |
Almuerzo. |
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15:00 – 17:00 |
Presentaciones de expertos locales e internacionales. Redefinición de una política local de Prevención en Drogas. Implementación (que instrumentos se puede utilizar, cómo involucrar a los diversos actores, difusión del nuevo enfoque, cómo superar las resistencias, trabajo con los medios de comunicación, etc.). Evaluación/monitoreo.
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16:30 – 17:00 |
Resumen y clausura. |
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PROGRAMAÇÃO RECIFE: August 30, 31 and September 1, 2000
Dia 30 de agosto - O que sabemos |
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09:00 - 10:00 |
Cerimônia de abertura Associação Internacional de Redução de Danos (IHRA), Programa Conjunto das Nações Unidas para HIV/Aids (UNAIDS), Rede Latino Americana de Redução de Danos (RELARD), Programa da Comissão Européia (URB-AL), Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação, a Ciência e a Cultura - UNESCO, Quest for Quality (Q4Q - Amsterdam), Secretaria Nacional Antidrogas (SENAD), Ministério da Saúde, Ministério da Justiça-PE, Ministério da Previdência e Assistência Social, Coordenação Nacional DST/Aids, Governo do Estado de PE, Tribunal de Justiça-PE, DETRAN, Infraero/Nordeste, Prefeitura da Cidade do Recife, Prefeitura do Cabo de Santo Agostinho.Apresentação: Ernst Buning (Holanda), Ana Glória Melcop (Recife- PE) |
10:00 - 11:00 |
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11:00- 11: 30 |
Coffee-break |
11:30 - 12:30 |
Grupos de trabalho – Apresentação dos participantes dos GT, a partir de sua área de concentração. |
12:30 - 14:30 |
Almoço |
14:30 - 16:00 |
Grupos de trabalho – Apresentação do tema por especialistas Grupo 1: Alcoolismo e outras dependências - ambiente profissional, outros contextos Palestrantes: Jorge Pellegrini (Argentina), Pedro Nascimento (Recife-PE), Evaldo Melo de Oliveira (Recife-PE) Grupo 2: Violência e drogas Palestrantes: Alba Zaluar (Rio de Janeiro-RJ), Ana Glória Melcop (Recife- PE), Julio Jacob (Recife-PE) Grupo 3: Uso de drogas entre crianças e adolescentes Palestrantes: Mônica Gorgulho (São Paulo-SP), Pat O`Hare (Itália), Jaques Schwarzstein (Recife-PE) Grupo 4: Sexualidade, uso de drogas e HIV/AIDS Palestrantes: Dartiu Xavier (São Paulo-SP), Fábio Mesquita (São Paulo-SP), François Figueiroa (Recife-PE) Grupo 5: Drogas em contextos específicos Palestrantes: Tarcísio Andrade (Salvador-BA), Carlos Coloma (Brasília -DF), Juberty de Souza (Campo Grande - MS) Grupo 6: Aspectos legais relativos às drogas e a questão da maconha em Pernambuco Palestrantes: Walter Maierovitch (São Paulo - SP), Fernando Ferro (Brasília-DF), Paulo Teixeira (São Paulo - SP) |
16:00 - 16:30 |
Coffee-Break |
16:30 - 18:00 |
Trabalho em subgrupos – diagnóstico da situação relativa ao tema - dimensão, condicionantes, principais desafios para a intervenção. |
Dia 31 de agosto - Como respondemos? |
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09:00 - 10:30 |
Mesa redonda - Modelos, iniciativas de prevenção, tratamento e redução de danos no campo das drogas e HIV/Aids Palestrantes: Dartiu Xavier (São Paulo-SP), Ernest Buning (Holanda), Humberto Viana (Cabo de Santo Agostinho - PE). |
10:30 - 11:00 |
Coffee-Break |
11:00 - 12:30 |
Trabalho em subgrupos – contribuições e dificuldades em relação ao tema |
12:30 - 14:30 |
Almoço |
14:30 - 16:00 |
Mesa redonda: Ingredientes de uma política local sobre drogas: municipalização, participação e controle social, implementação e avaliação/monitoramento Palestrantes: Annette Verster (Holanda), Fábio Mesquita (São Paulo-SP), Jan Bitoun (Recife-PE) |
16:00 - 16:30 |
Coffee-break |
16:30 - 17:30 |
Grupos de Trabalho – Objetivos e estratégias para a elaboração do plano de ação para Pernambuco |
18:00 - 19:30 |
Reunião Paralela 1 – Estratégias para a redução das situações de risco no trânsito Participantes: IHRA, DENATRAN, DETRAN, CPD, SENAD. Reunião Paralela 2 – Estratégias para implementação de ações de prevenção e redução de comportamentos de risco no Serviço Civil Voluntário. Participantes: IHRA, Cruzada de Ação Social, PROAD, CPD, Centro Luiz Freire, PAPAI Apresentação de experiências – Psicodrama com usuários de drogas Coordenadora: Nures Pellegrini (Argentina) |
Dia 1 de setembro - Rumo a uma política local sobre drogas |
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09:00 - 10:30 |
Grupos de Trabalho – Elaboração do plano de ação, com definição dos objetivos, instâncias responsáveis por cada ação, estratégias para agenciamento de recursos, formas de monitoramento e avaliação. |
10:30 - 11:00 |
Coffee-break |
11:00 - 12:30 |
Grupos de Trabalho – Continuação da elaboração do plano |
12:30 - 14:30 |
Almoço |
14:30 - 16:00 |
Mesa redonda: Apresentação de outras experiências do LATS e de programas de redução de danos. Palestrantes: Sandra Batista (Curitiba-PR), Cecilia Peñaloza (Chile) |
16:00 - 16:30 |
Coffee-break |
16:30 - 18:00 |
Apresentação de síntese das propostas do plano de ações para Pernambuco Celebração de um Pacto de Compromisso entre instituições governamentais e não governamentais e instituições internacionais |
18:00 - 18:30 |
Cerimônia de encerramento |
22:00 |
Reunião social |
1. Introduction
LATS (Latin American Travelling Seminar) is a concept which was tested in three Latin American cities in the period March-November 2000. It was carefully evaluated and the overall conclusion was that LATS had an impact on the stimulation of local drug policy in the cities involved. The evaluation was described in a report (January 2001), which can be obtained from Quest for Quality BV (see address below) or downloaded from the LATS website (www.latseminar.org).
In the period 2001-2003, another 12 cities will have the possibility to have LATS. Cities in Latin America can apply for participation. If accepted, they can count on support from LATS, which implies concrete advice regarding drug policy development, access to international drug experts, links with important international organisations (such as the International Harm Reduction Association), support in making a plan for the seminar, in organising the seminar and in obtaining funding for the seminar and costs for follow-up projects.
In this short paper, a concrete outline is presented for those who wish to have LATS in their own city.
2. Objective of LATS
The objective of LATS is to built a local response to the drug problem.
Ingredients of this response are:
3. The building blocks of LATS
LATS consists of the following elements:
In this phase, representatives of LATS visit the city, speak with key persons and visit drug intervention projects. A meeting takes place with experts involved. During this meeting, the principles of LATS are explained and the need for having LATS is assessed.
The visit of the LATS representatives is prepared by a local contact person and is crucial for the further success of LATS. The visit takes approximately three days. The LATS representatives produce a report with recommendations.
Costs: travel and subsistence for two LATS representatives (about 3000 US$) and fees for the LATS staff (3000 US$).
B. The seminar
Based on the outcome of the preparatory phase, local experts may wish to have a Latin American Travelling Seminar in their city. In that case, they will have to write a proposal to Quest for Quality BV. In this proposal the following should be discussed:
As soon as the proposal is accepted, a date is fixed and representatives of LATS arrange for financial support. This will only be done, when there is a substantial local contribution.
During the seminar, representatives of LATS are available for support and for making sure that the seminar is carried out according to the LATS standard.
The costs involved are the following:
Direct conference costs: (1) local organisation costs, (2) costs for printing, office supplies, telephone costs etc,(3) rental of conference hall, (4) translation facilities, (5) travel, accommodation and fee for external speakers, (6) catering during seminar, (7) costs of social event, (8) miscellaneous.
Indirect costs: (1) fee for two LATS representatives (3000 US$), (2) travel and accommodation for two LATS representatives, (3) organisational costs for Q4Q (1500 US$).
From previous experiences, it can be said that having LATS in a city will cost no more than about 60,000 US$.
C. The follow-up
To make sure that the results from the seminar are lasting, the LATS representatives will remain in close contact with the local contact persons. They will be stimulated to make follow-up plans and will be coached with the further elaboration of this. Between three and six months after the seminar, LATS representatives will return and meet with significant persons in that city to make sure that the results are sustained.
Costs: travel and subsistence for two LATS representatives (about. 3000 US$) and fees for the LATS staff (3000 US$).
4. Further information
If you need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact the international LATS co-odinator (Ernst Buning) or the Latin American LATS co-ordinator (Monica Gorgulho). Furthermore, information can be found on the website: www.latseminar.org
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