From 19 to 22 September 7 delegations of 21 field professionals from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine* and Tunisia visited Italy to benefit from the Italian national model of recovery, which is based on close cooperation between the public sector’s treatment services and the therapeutic communities of the private social sector.

On the first day, the delegation visited the Comunita PARS  in Macerata. On the second day of the visit, participants met with the Deputy Mayor of Macerata and local stakeholders to discuss prevention targeting youth and treatment interventions at the local and national level. Following the meeting with the local authorities, the delegations visited the Servizio Territoriale Dipendenze patologiche (STDP). On the 3rd day, the delegation visited the Comunita San Patrignano in Rimini which is the largest therapeutic community in italy.

On the last day, the 7 delegations and the Pompidou Group Secretariat met with the Department for Antidrug Policies (DPA) of Italy. During the meeting, DPA gave a comprehensive presentation on the drug policy of Italy.

This first multi-country visit was held within the Pompidou Group’s Mediterranean network for cooperation on drugs and addictions (MedNET) and has been organized in cooperation with the Italian Department for Antidrug Policies, Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy, who also funded this successful initiative.