Launch of the European Prevention Curriculum handbook in Georgian

The Georgian version of the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) handbook, adapted to the national context, will be launched at two events in Tbilisi on 8 and 9 December. The events are organised by the Inter-Agency Coordinating Council on Combating Drug Abuse, the National Drug Observatory of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the Ilia State University in the framework of the EMCDDA's first bilateral technical cooperation project with Georgia (EMCDDA4GE).

The EUPC initiative, launched in 2019, aims to advance the professionalism of the substance use prevention workforce in Europe. It was designed to provide training to decision-, opinion-, and policy-makers about the most effective evidence-based prevention approaches and interventions. In addition, prevention coordinators, prevention specialists and heads of non-governmental organisations involved in prevention may also benefit from the curriculum, given the key role they play in influencing countries' prevention systems.

Besides the handbook, further training materials were also translated and adapted to support the national roll out of the EUPC training, including the European drug prevention quality standards: a quick guide. The translation and adaptation process was coordinated by the Tomáš Zábranský Institute of Addiction Studies at the Ilia State University (Tbilisi), under the supervision of the EMCDDA. The project was supported by the established national adaptation working group of stakeholders in the field of prevention.

The event on 8 December will be attended by high-level decision-, opinion-, and policy-makers and the event on 9 December by a wider audience, including academics and specialists working in the field of prevention. Besides launching the published materials, the organisers will share examples on how the EUPC is being implemented in other European countries and how the Georgian prevention workforce can benefit from introducing the EUPC training in national language.

During the events, brief EUPC taster sessions will be delivered by the Georgian national EUPC trainer and 3 trainer candidates who are in the process of becoming accredited national EUPC trainers. Introducing the EUPC training programme in Georgia will contribute to expanding evidence-informed prevention of substance use in the country.

Launched in May 2021, EMCDDA4GE aims to enhance national responses to drug-related health and security threats and to familiarise Georgian partners with the EU drug information system and its methodologies and tools. The project focuses primarily on knowledge transfer and capacity-building in the areas of drug monitoring, reporting, prevention and treatment.