Cyclone Junkie - Banging up in the Tropics…

TUF Harm Reduction Symposium 2005

A message from the Territory Users Forum

September 6, 2005… Venue to be confirmed

Preliminary announcement…

Are you a doctor, nurse, mental-health worker, social worker, psychologist, corrections officer, counsellor, teacher, youth worker, police officer, ambulance officer or Aboriginal health worker? Are you a student in one of these disciplines? Do you work with, or intend to work with people who inject drugs or are ‘at risk’ of becoming injectors? Are you interested in assisting the NT drug user movement in their efforts to reduce drug-related harm?

If you answered ‘yes’, “Cyclone Junkie - Banging up in the Tropics” is the training event you cannot miss.

In 2004 the Northern Territory-based drug-user organisation TUF, the Territory Users Forum, facilitated the first Harm Reduction Symposium in Australia’s Top End. The Symposium was TUF’s contribution to the 2004 Syringe Festival, a week-long event organised by the second NT drug-user group, the Network Against Prohibition (NAP).

The event was a success and was the first time that the NT drug user movement had endured such a large scale training event for service providers in the Territory.

Tropical topics

The theme of this year’s Symposium, “Cyclone Junkie - Banging up in the Tropics”, will ensure the day has a Top End flavour.

There are four topic areas that will be covered on the day:

Issues faced by injectors (and potential injectors);
Issues faced by injectors (and potential injectors) from an Indigenous and/or Non English-speaking background;
Mental health and injecting/illicit drug use; and
Reducing the harm – the role of the law.

Abstract submission

At this stage, we are calling for abstracts from anyone who would like to facilitate a workshop or make a presentation at the event.

You can download the abstract form and instructions here.

We are more than happy to assist people with abstract submission so please don’t be shy.

The deadline for abstract submission is close of business, Monday the 20th of June.

Registration

Registration details will be available in June. Members of the TUF Harm Reduction Update email list will receive a generous discount on the cost of registration and we are always willing to discuss financial difficulties with students or people from poorly funded groups. Injecting drug users and members of TUF will receive free entry to the Symposium.

SyringeFest 2005

“Cyclone Junkie - Banging up in the Tropics” is TUF’s contribution to the Fourth Darwin International Syringe Festival which will be held in Darwin from the 5th to the 11th of September. Organised by the Network Against Prohibition, the SyringeFest is a wake, celebration, protest and educational activity all in one.

SyringeFest 2005 will have a week of events including a cabaret dinner for members of the NT drug user movement (and their friends), a dance party, community picnics, an art/literature competition and much, much more.

As an International event, the SyringeFest attracts visitors from overseas and interstate. If your not in the Northern Territory, book your flights (and bus tickets) and sort out your visas now…

For more info on this year’s SyringeFest click here.

You can also email the SyringeFest team here.

Interstate/Overseas delegates

The Territory Users Forum has limited funding and we are unable to offer any scholarships for travel to the Symposium or for accomodation. We are willing to waive registrations costs for any overseas/interstate delegate who would face financial hardship if we forced them to pay.

We hope that by announcing this event early, you will be able to scrape up the resources to get here. Contact us for ideas!

The Network Against Prohibition may be able to assist one or two international delegates to attend the conference. NAP have advised that if they are in a position to assist delegates to get to Darwin, they would prefer to fund someone in our region… if you want to go down this avenue contact NAP now!

NAP will be offering billeting for people who are coming to Darwin for the SyringeFest and require accomodation.

Further information

For more information, check out the “Cyclone Junkie” page on the TUF website, call TUF on (08) 8941 2308 or email TUF by clicking here.