European cities are confronted with multifaceted challenges related to the drug phenomenon, with significant impacts on public health, urban security, and social cohesion. Addressing these issues is further complicated by a fragmented operational landscape, in which local authorities, law enforcement agencies, and social services often act in parallel rather than through coordinated approaches. Moreover, young people remain particularly exposed to drug use and trafficking due to a combination of social, economic, and developmental factors, underscoring the need for strengthened, integrated, and evidence-based local responses.
- The main objective is to train local stakeholders (local police, city prevention services, youth/social workers) and enhance their ability to address the complexities of drug-related issues
- Advocate for an integrated, multi-stakeholder approach that balances prevention, health, and security concerns
- Fostering cooperation, knowledge exchange and capacity building among local stakeholders
- Equip local practitioners with the tools to understand both the supply and demand aspects of drug-related issues
- Bridge gaps between lack of comprehensive knowledge on evolving drug markets and prevention/harm reduction strategies
The project is led by Efus. The partners are European Harm Reduction Network – Correlation (E-EHRN), Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) and Ghent University.
There are also four associated cities: Genk (BE), Rotterdam(NL), Lisbon (PT) and Cali (CO). They will be active contributors, providing feedback to ensure that the training meets the needs of local actors in Europe and internationally.
The activities are:
- Designing a training programme: The training is developed through research, hybrid co-creation workshops, and feedback from partner cities.
- Developing flexible training materials: Training materials are created to be adaptable to different local contexts and easy for local stakeholders to use independently.
- Delivering hybrid training sessions: A combination of online sessions and tailored in-person workshops provides support for building local expertise.
- Awareness and advocacy activities.
Efus plays a central role throughout the project by coordinating overall management and contributing to the design of the training approach. It leads the outreach process to identify and select trainees and oversees the production of key training resources, including videos and podcasts. Efus is also responsible for the project’s communication, advocacy efforts, and long-term sustainability, ensuring that the results reach a wide audience and continue to benefit local stakeholders beyond the project’s duration.
December 2025 – November 2027
Anne Boisseau – Programme Manager – boisseau@efus.eu
Pilar De La Torre – Project Development Manager – delatorre@efus.eu
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Erasmus + fund. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
