The European Center for Peace and Development University for Peace established by the United Nations, Belgrade (ECPD) - Regional Mediterranean Institute for International Postgraduate Studies and Development Research, in the framework of the ECPD International Program of Transfer of Knowledge System, in cooperation with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità of Italy, National School of Public Health of Greece, South-Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN), Croatian Medical Association - Society for Alcoholism and Other Addictions, Medical Chamber of Slovenia and Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, organizes

 

XII ECPD INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIST SCHOOL

LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN PREVENTION, THERAPY AND REHABILITATION OF ADDICTIVE DISEASES
with the main topic

MASS TRAUMATISM (COVID-19 PANDEMIC)

AND ADDICTIVE DISEASES

(Belgrade, 25 – 27 June 2021)

 

The European Center for Peace and Development UN University for Peace organizes this School with the aim to direct the focus to all modalities and aspects of addiction, as well as to bring together experts from various fields - physicians, psychologists, social workers, special pedagogues, lawyers, criminologists and other professionals, who will enable a more extensive exchange of experience as well as provide the latest knowledge, practical and scientific achievements in the area of prevention, treatment and integral rehabilitation of addictive diseases.

Director of the School is Prof. Dr. Slavica Đukić Dejanović, Professor at the ECPD UN University for Peace. Co-directors of the School are Prof. Dr. Zoran Zoričić, Clinical Hospital Center “Sisters of Mercy” Zagreb, President of the Croatian Society for Alcoholism and Other Addictions and Prof. Dr. Petar Nastasić, Professor of the ECPD UN University for Peace. The school is internationally and nationally accredited. The School is accredited by the Health Council of Serbia as an International course of the 1st category with 14 points for lecturers and 7 points for participants. The accreditation number of the School is А-1-84/21.

Contemporary addictions are no longer manifested only as the excessive use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances (opiates, hallucinogens, stimulants ...). In the era of postmodernism, they still have epidemiological rates, but nowadays so-called non-chemical addictions (pathological gambling, dependence on video games, the Internet and social networks, shopping...) are emerging. Unfortunately, this change has not led to a reduction in the the so-called chemical addictions. Research shows that not only are some of them increasing in number but an increase in mortality associated with alcohol and alcoholism is registered. Likewise, social and psychological consequences to family members, social status of families, especially children are more pronounced. In relation to addictive diseases, there is significant growth of social deviation, domestic violence, general crime, prostitution, and human trafficking. It has to be said that contemporary addictions represent the greatest challenge globally in (re) defining cause, etiology,prevention, treatment and recovery.

All addictions are primarily complex diseases of the central nervous system, but with specific behavioral determinants and psychological and social consequences. Therefore, these are the underlying diseases of disruptive behavior and all addictions hold the characteristics of learned emotional behavior. Their formation is based on the processes of emotional and social learning, and has a very complex neurobiochemical basis (verified by the findings of affective neuroscience).

It was the previous and this year that the challenge became extremely difficult. The massive stress and trauma expressed through the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges, both to society as a whole and to the psychiatric and addiction professions. Many prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs have been temporarily reduced or delayed. At the same time, the generated stress emphasized the recurrence of behavior and taking substances in one part of the addicted population, and a part of the wider population used psychoactive substances to reduce stress, risking the development of addiction. The uncertainty of the future outcome of the pandemic poses challenges to the profession to better redefine the framework of treatment in crisis conditions, as well as the adoption of treatment for comorbid disorders.

In accordance with its good tradition, the School will also deal with the New Paradigm of Recovery, not only diagnosis and medical treatment of addiction diseases. According to the postulates of the New Paradigm, the goal of addiction treatment is not simply to "abort" or "reduce" the use of psychoactive substances or to discontinue gambling and internet use. This is actually achieved successfully and relatively quickly by a formal treatment episode according to a medical model. However, the New Paradigm insists on the establishment of treatment and its implementation, similar to the treatment of other chronic diseases, advocating long-term management of addiction treatment. In addition to solidarity with a sick member of the community, changes are expected both in the family and community regarding the causes and consequences of the addiction disease.

This brings us to the place and realm where the addiction was developed and maintained - in the ecosystem, in the social community and in the family. Depending on where the problem originated, the cause and a cure is found, and hence - prevention and treatment and recovery. Considerations of social ecosystems will now be deepened by an understanding of the pandemic environment and global impacts on the prevention and treatment of chemical and non-chemical addictions.

 

Program

Program of the School includes the following main topics:

(I) MASS TRAUMATISM (COVID-19 PANDEMIC) AND ADDICTION DISEASES

Ÿ     Imbalances of the ecosystem approach to addictions in times of COVID crisis

Ÿ     Modern psycho-pharmacological therapy of addiction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ÿ     Substitution therapy - the role of Buprenorphine in the socialization of heroin addicts

Ÿ     Alcoholism - old or new pandemic

Ÿ     Adaptation of harm-reduction programs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ÿ     Comorbidity of addiction and affective disorders

Ÿ     Online interventions in the age of COVID-19

Ÿ     Non-institutional treatment of addiction diseases

(II) THE NECESSITY OF UPGRADING IDENTITY AND STRENGTHENING SKILLS OF ADICTOLOGISTS THROUGH INTERDISCIPLINARITY/TRANSDISCIPLINARITY

Ÿ     Sustainable Development Goals - UN Agenda 2030 and Addiction Diseases

Ÿ     Inter/transdisciplinarity and collaborative work in the community

Ÿ     Multisectoral approach and decentralization in the field of drug policies in the Republic of Serbia

Ÿ     The impact of government interventions on the prevalence of addiction

Ÿ     Potentials and possibilities of medical sociology and social ecology for the issue of addiction

Ÿ     Can addictology be better after the COVID-19 Pandemic experience

Ÿ     The importance of connecting social protection and public health in the local community

Ÿ     Social and professional identity of addictologysts

 

Lecturers

·         Prof. Dr. Slavica Đukić Dejanović, former Minister in the Government of the Republic of Serbia and Professor at the ECPD UN University for Peace, Belgrade

·         Prof. Dr. Zoran Zoričić, Director of the Croatian Society for Alcoholism and Other Addictions, President of Croatian Association of Clubs of Treated Alcoholics, Zagreb

·         Prof. Dr. Luca Rosi, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy

·         Prof. Dr. Petar Nastasić, Professor of the ECPD UN University for Peace, Belgrade

·         Prof. Dr. Mila Goldner Vukov, Member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists

·         Prim. Dr. Mira Kovačević, Director of the Special Hospital for Addictive Diseases, Belgrade, President of the National Committee for Prevention and Control of Addictive Diseases of the Republic of Serbia

·         Prof. Dr. Nera Zivlak Radulović, Head of Psychiatric Clinic, University Clinical Centre of the Republic of Srpska

·         Prof. Dr. Nermana Mehić Basara, Director of the Institute for Addiction Diseases, Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

·         Ass. Prof. Dr. Verica Jovanovic, Director of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut"

·         Dr. Miloš Stojanović, Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Serbia

·         Mr. Jovan Vojinović, Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of the Republic of Serbia

·         Prof. Dr. Zdenka Čebašek, President, Medical Chamber of Slovenia

·         Prof. Dr. Srđan Milovanović, Clinical Center of Serbia, University Psychiatry Clinic

·         Ass. Prof. Dr. Olivera Vuković, Institute of Mental Health, Belgrade

·         Prof. Dr. Nikša Dubreta, Chair of Department of Sociology, University of Zagreb

·         Dr. sc. Erik Brezovec, sociologist, Croatian Studies, Zagreb

·         Prof. Dr. Snežana Rakić, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade

 

Certificate

School participants that have successfully completed the School program will obtain an internationally accredited Certificate of the European Center for Peace and Development of the University for Peace established by the United Nations.

 

Application Form and Registration Fee

Registration fee for participation in the School amounts 350 EUR.

Application should be sent to: European Center for Peace and Development UN University for Peace, Terazije 41, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; Fax: +381 11 3240 673, +381 11 3234 082; E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; www.ecpd.org.rs

 

Hotel Accommodation

 

The School participants are provided accommodation at the Hotel "Majestic" in Belgrade (www.majestic.rs; Tel: +381 11 328 57 77; E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), in the immediate vicinity of the ECPD. Accommodation on the basis of bed and breakfast will be charged at the reduced price of 6,520 RSD per day for a single room and 8,800 RSD for a double room (for two people).