ABU DHABI, 12th May, 2022 (WAM) -- The 3rd Global Forum for Youth Leaders on Drug Use Prevention (GoFORTH) kicked off in Abu Dhabi, to address drug demand reduction among youth and seek to build a global network of partnerships between organisations and specialists in the field of substance use and disorders.
Held under the theme "Uniting the international community to face the challenge of addiction", the event is being organized by the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) from 12th to 16th May at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), in cooperation with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Colombo Plan, Drug Advisory Programme (DAP) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The forum coincides with the conference of the International Society for Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP 2022), which is being held in Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
During the event, Dr. Hamad Abdullah Al Ghafri, Director-General of the National Rehabilitation Centre, said the youth are the cornerstone of the UAE’s development process. He noted that the country is harnessing all its potential to develop the youth and empower young people, through a set of related programmes, projects, and initiatives.
"The UAE is keen on providing the latest medical practices and techniques based on scientific research and innovation in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of substance use," he said.
He stressed that the main objective of the forum will be to strengthen the leadership of youth in the field of the prevention of substances use through the initiatives they organize, explaining that the forum aims to help young people youth establish and maintain substance abuse use prevention activities, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills to implement effective preventive interventions and initiate youth-led community action plans in substance abuse use prevention.
A team of international trainers specialising in drug demand reduction among youth, and 10 youth workers who received intensive training for three months, will participate in the forum, which will be attended by 65 males and females’ youth from 40 countries around the world, as well as 16 youth from the UAE.
The National Rehabilitation Centre, he added, has developed a future work plan to track participants and what they are doing to prevent substances use, in which communication is done on a monthly basis by email and through a meeting virtual quarterly and a virtual annual gathering ceremony, and preparations are underway to establish a network that they manage themselves, so that the link of the center is not broken between them and to be a link for young youth leaders in this area at the regional level.