More than a thousand harm reduction professionals gathered in Bogotá, Colombia, to attend the 28th Harm Reduction International Conference. Watch Drugreporter's recap video here!

Sowing Change to Harvest Justice – this was the slogan of the 2025 conference. It is a message that resonates strongly in an age when injustice is rife across the globe. Democracies are faltering, the rule of law and the spirit of multilateralism are eroding, and both funding for harm reduction and the space for civil society are shrinking.

Yet, despite these troubling developments, the international harm reduction movement remains on the front line, striving to keep people healthy and alive. The choice of location – Bogotá – was a message in itself: Colombia, under its progressive government, is taking a leading role in global drug policy reform.

Activists from the Global South are now more vocal and influential than ever before, placing social justice at the heart of drug policy reform.

Our film offers an overview of the conference’s main themes.

Interviewees:

SHAUN SHELLY (HRI), MARIA CLARA ZEA (Elementa, DDHH, Colombia), JULIAN QUINTERO Acción Técnica Social (ATS), DANIEL ROJAS (Cambie), BEATRIZ GARCÍA (Cambie), ÁNGELA ARTEAGA (Cambie), DAVID MORENO (Cambie), MAURO ADRIÁN DÍAZ MORENO (Echele Cabeza), PABLO CYMERMAN (Intercambios, Argentina), HUMBERTO ROTONDO (Youth RISE, Peru), NABARUN DASGUPTA (Remedy Alliance, USA), ETHAN NADELMANN (USA), CATHERINE COOK, (HRI), ANGELA MCBRIDE (SANPUD), KLAAS MTSHWENI (SANPUD), SUCHITRA RAJAGOPALAN (HRI), ARDHANY -ACHIEL- SURYADARMA (Rumah Cemara, Indonesia), AHMED SAID (AfricaNPUD, Kenya), MARCELA JOFRE (HRI), REBECA BALABAN LERER (International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice, Brazil), JANE SLATER (Transform Drug Policy Foundation, UK), DIEGO ANDRES LUGO VIVAS (CET-Colombia, Santo Tomás University, Colombia), SANTIAGO MANUEL FIORIO VAESKEN (CESCR, Paraguay), GANNA DOVBAKH (EHRA), TERESA SPRINGER (Wellness Services INC., USA).

Reporter and text: Péter Sárosi
Video: István Gábor Takács

The video was produced with the support of Harm Reduction International.

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