South-South Cooperation
CONFERENCE CYCLE
SOCIALIZATION OF THE STRATEGY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF COLOMBIA TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF ILLICIT DRUGS
Hosted by the MSA Faculty of Social and Health Sciences
in partnership with the
Embassy of Colombia in South Africa.
Date: 11 – 12 April
Time: 9:00
Venue: Monash South Africa Campus in Ruimsig, Johannesburg
Registration: Please register below by 9 April 2018
Illicit drug use, misuse and abuse has been a huge problem in Colombia, South Africa and the African continent at large. However, while Colombia has made significant strides in combating illicit drugs, very little has been done to address this very acute but understudied phenomenon in Africa. For this reason, a Delegation of the Government of Colombia, the Randburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Monash South Africa will hold a full day conference to discuss the problem of illicit drugs in Colombia and how the government has managed to control and manage it. Building on the Colombian case study, the conference will generate lessons for fighting illicit drugs in South Africa and the African continent at large. At another level, the engagement of the delegation of the Colombian government with academics, the civil society, government and other stakeholders in South Africa promotes values and principles of South-South cooperation. This kind of engagement challenges the dominant thinking that solutions will come from Western countries. It is hoped that, in the long term, this process will create a new narrative in the fight against illicit drugs not only in South Africa but also on the African continent and the world at large. This narrative will challenge the prohibitionist approaches that are promoted by the Western capitalist countries. We hope to promote “development first,” public health and human rights based drug policies in the Global South and the world at large.
We look forward to connecting for this conference and the opportunity to shape the future.