NordAN Conference 2019 – Helsinki, Finland

NordAN conference: „Alcohol and drugs in a changing society“

October 11-12, 2019

Helsinki, Finland

Hotel Arthur

PROGRAM – DRAFT

Friday, October 11

10.00 Welcome and introduction

Ismo Tuominen, Ministerial Counsellor, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

Peter Allebeck, NordAN president

Juha Mikkonen, EHYT

Keynote presentations

Pekka Puska – Former Director of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare –„Do evidence and strategies influence policies?“

Jevgeni Ossinovski – Former Minister of Health, Estonia – „Oh, it will hurt!“: The political experience of standing up to the booze industry in Estonia

Tim Stockwell – University of Victoria, Canada – „Finnish alcohol policy at the crossroads: Alternative health, safety and economic outcomes of tighter or looser regulatory systems“

11.45 LUNCH

12.45 SPECIAL PLENARY
Vytenis Andriukaitis – EU Health Commissioner – ALCOHOL AND DRUGS IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
Read Commissioner Andriukaitis´s full SPEECH

13.30 Plenary I – State of the Monopolies

Moderated by Juha Mikkonen, EHYT
Leena Laitinen, Managing Director of Alko (Finland) – PRESENTATION
Anna Raninen, Manager of Alcohol Research at Systembolaget (Sweden) – PRESENTATION

14.30 COFFEE BREAK

15.00 Plenary II
Stig Erik Sørheim, Actis, president of EURAD – Learning from North American drug policy experience
”Critics say that the world blindly followed the US into a global war on drugs. Are we now blindly following them into legalization?”

15.45 Speed dating – ca 5 spots (3×15 min)
Women´s group – Leena Harake (KSAN)
Labelling – Mariann Skar (Eurocare)
The KUPLA “Students reforming substance use culture” project – Emi Maeda (EHYT)
10 000 signatures for raising the age limit in Latvia – Raivis Ievins
Cannabis – Karin Rantala (EHYT)

END OF DAY ONE

17.00 – NordAN General Assembly meeting

18.30-19.30 – The evening reception is organised by the office of The Mayor of Helsinki City at the Old Town Hall

Saturday, October 12

9.00 Overview of the first day and introduction to the second – Anne Babb, General Secterary of IFBC
How should the changing scene influence alcohol policy in Nordic/Baltic countries and EU?

Plenary III
What is the future of European alcohol policy? The WHO European Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol is due to end in 2020, and there is no new European Alcohol Strategy.
Carina Ferreira-Borges, WHO Europe, Moscow – Alcohol policies: strengthening implementation for improved health and development outcomes

Mariann Skar, Secretary General, Eurocare –„Alcohol policy at EU level – opportunities and challenges“

Eric Carlin – Director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems – „Changing Scotland’s relationship with alcohol – more to do“.

10.30 COFFEE BREAK

11.00 Plenary IV – Political youth organisations and their views on alcohol policy
Plenary includes:
# Project overview and preliminary conclusions – Lauri Beekmann, Executive director, NordAN
# Moderated discussion about youth and alcohol policy:
Moderator – Kalle Dramstad, IOGT-NTO Brussels office
Participants:
Nijole Gostautaite Midttun, NTAKK, Lithuania
Emi Maeda, KUPLA project, Finland
Kjetil Vesteraas, Juvente, Norway
Lukas Galkus, International Youth Health Organization
Read thoughts from the panel HERE

12.00 Plenary V – Changing but still moving forward. Progress in Nordic alcohol policy.

Dr Ülla-Karin Nurm, Director of the NDPHS (Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being) Secretariat – PRESENTATION
Nina Rehn-Mendoza Director of Public Health, and Nadja Frederiksen, Senior Adviser from Nordic Welfare Centre – PRESENTATION
Heikki Hiilamo, Research Professor, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) – Alcohol industry strategies to influence the reform of the Finnish Alcohol Law

13.15 Conclusions and thanks – Peter Allebeck

Videos: EHYT ry