Building Capacity for Action. European Alcohol Policy Conference. Barcelona, 3 – 5 April

The third in a series of European Alcohol Policy conferences will take place in Barcelona, 3rd-5th April 2008.

The main theme of the conference is to build capacity on alcohol policies and programmes at European, country, regional and municipal levels to invest in the health of Europe's citizens. The conference will be structured around the five objectives of the Commission's Communication on alcohol (i.e. to protect young people, children and the unborn child; to reduce injuries and death from alcohol-related road accidents; to prevent alcohol-related harm among adults and reduce the negative impact on the workplace; to inform, educate and raise awareness on the impact of harmful and hazardous alcohol consumption, and on appropriate consumption patterns; and to develop and maintain a common evidence base at EU level). The conference will include a session on effective alcohol policy at the EU level.

A special attention within the framework of the conference will be given to the prevention of alcohol-related accidents, injuries, and inter-personal violence.

For further information and registration visit http://www.ias.org.uk/buildingcapacity/conference/index.html

NOTE: A call for proposals for parallel sessions is now open. Parallel sessions should be highly participatory and should focus on Building Capacity for Action. Parallel sessions can bring together different groups to encourage capacity building sharing problems and finding solutions.

They can be built around one of the following six themes:

• The protection of young people, children and the unborn child
• Preventing alcohol related accidents, injuries, and inter-personal violence
• Preventing alcohol-related harm among adults and at the workplace
• Actions to inform, educate and raise awareness to reduce alcohol-related harm
• Strengthening a common evidence base throughout Europe
• Training and professional development to build capacity

Proposals for parallel session are particularly welcome from those working in sectors such as finance, road safety, consumer and family affairs, education, entertainment, communications, and marketing and advertising, and those working at the regional and municipal level,

More information http://www.ias.org.uk/buildingcapacity/conference/index.html