“When prevention training moves beyond theory, real change begins” - this was the shared common message from psychologists and social workers who gathered for a two-day joint workshop, led by Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe. It brought together more than 30 professionals from state institutions and municipalities to strengthen co-ordination and translate evidence-based prevention into everyday practice.

For many participants, the impact was already tangible: “In my daily work, I interact closely with children, adolescents, and their parents. The information I received through cascade workshops on prevention helped me rethink my approaches, identify mistakes in my interactions with end beneficiaries, and directly improve my day-to-day work. I can clearly see the positive results” - shared a representative of municipal psychological support service in Batumi.

Prevention efforts were also shown to scale beyond individual practice. A representative of Gori Municipality noted that, based on the 2024 training and materials provided, including the National Strategy on Drug Prevention, the municipality developed 12 prevention strategies helping focus the work of local institutions more prominently on child protection.

The workshop highlighted that while prevention remains under-prioritised among decision makers, targeted trainings, shared tools and stronger collaboration can translate knowledge into action and generate measurable impact for children and adolescents.

The workshop was organised in the framework of the Project “Strengthening the Role of Key Actors in Drug Prevention” implemented under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027.