November, the month of the fight against addiction, was marked as part of the implementation of the regional project “Biram oporavak”. In the period from 08.11. – 10.11.2022. In 2008, in the Mona Plaza Hotel in Belgrade, the Second Regional Forum on Drug Addiction and Recovery was held, which aims to improve the position of people affected by addiction in society. The forum was organized within the framework of the regional project “I choose recovery” – Associations Izlazak from Serbia, Proslavi oporavak from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Preporod from Montenegro, with the support of the World Federation against Drugs and the Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The Forum was attended by more than 200 professionals from the field of addiction and recovery, as well as representatives of relevant state administration bodies, as well as civil society organizations. Participants had the opportunity to learn about examples of good practice, current topics such as treatment in clinics, new addictions, as well as numerous research results in the field of addiction recovery, presented by experts from Europe and the region.

This year Forum was opened by Mr. Milan Pekić, Director of the Office for Combating Drugs, and on this occasion he thanked the participants for their attendance, as well as the partner organizations. He pointed out that the Forum on drug addiction and recovery is a good place for exchanging information, knowledge, skills, examples of good practice, as well as gaining insight into the real situation when it comes to the issue of drug trafficking and drug abuse.

Mr. Umberto Severini, Head of Security Co-operation Department at OSCE Mission to Serbia, welcomed all present and took the opportunity to thank the Office for Combating Drugs for the cooperation and implementation of drug policies, as well as the evaluation of the Strategy on the Prevention of Drug Abuse for the period 2014-2021 . years.

Ms. Žana Glavendekić, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime based in Belgrade, thanked for the invitation to participate and emphasized in her speech that the concept of recovery is particularly prominent in international standards. Also, Mrs. Glavendekić expressed her agreement that stigmatization when it comes to addictive diseases must be eradicated. Mr. Aleksandar Žugić, in front of the Izlazak Association, welcomed all the guests and reminded that the main goal of the Forum is to connect and network actors, and invited all participants to a discussion and exchange of information on these topics.

Ms. Smiljana Aleksić, on behalf of the Office for Combating Drugs, spoke about the establishment of multidisciplinary teams throughout the Republic of Serbia and on that occasion highlighted numerous activities organized by teams in local self-government units during 2022.