On 15 to 18 June, ISSUP Brazil through its host organisation, Mobilization Freemind, hosted the 7th International Congress of Freemind 2022 in Campinas.
The theme for this year was 'Protecting our young people from drugs is our greatest commitment to the future!' Over 1,500 in-person attendees came together for the four-day Congress where experts and stakeholders discussed prevention and substance use issues. The sessions were broadcast live on YouTube from The Freemind Mobilization channel, gaining 4,500 online views.
The Congress was complemented by 30 hours of training in areas of substance use prevention, treatment and matters of social reintegration. ISSUP’s Chair, Melody Heaps,chaired an international panel on ‘Alternatives to Incarceration: The Justice System, an Opportunity for Treatment Interventions’. She was joined by Igor Koutsenok, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, who presented ‘What the Research Says: It Works!’, Michele Worobiec, JD, CCM, President of NAMSDL on ‘Offering Treatment Interventions at all Points Along the Justice Sectors’ and Elisa Rubini, Consultant, Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), who presented on ‘Case Care Management: An Essential Tool to Successful Treatment and Recovery’.
Livia Edegger, Deputy Director of ISSUP and Bárbara Correa, National Chapter Coordinator for Spanish and Portuguese Speaking Countries were amongst 18 international speakers invited to take part in the Congress and had the opportunity to present the work that is being undertaken by ISSUP Global across the Americas to support workforce development through improving access to evidence-based and high-quality practice and knowledge.
A diverse programme of side events took place, including a workshop on the Prevention of Drug Use in Schools that took place in the three days prior to the Congress, from June 13 to 15, with a workload of 21 hours and the participation of 62 people. A Media Prevention Course led by Dr William Crano, Distinguished Professorship in Psychology in Claremont Graduate University’s Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences, was also provided with the support of CICAD.
A big thank you goes to our colleagues in Brazil for providing such an incredible experience and congratulations on the exceptional work you have been doing, we are already looking forward to meeting-up again at the next Freemind International Congress.
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