The Harm Reduction International Conference began in 1990 in Liverpool, England. The city was one of the first to open needle and syringe programmes, and attracted hundreds of visitors each year who wanted to learn about the 'Mersey Harm Reduction Model'. The success of this first conference led to its establishment as an annual event held in major cities around the world.

The conference helped to spread the principles behind harm reduction, share knowledge and experience and build networks of harm reduction practitioners and activists, to broaden the response to HIV related to unsafe injecting practices, HCV, bacterial infections and overdose. The conference also became the primary international meeting and networking point for drug user activists and organisations.

Over the past three decades, the conference has been staged in Europe, Eurasia, North and South America, Asia and Australasia. The most recent conference was held in Melbourne, Australia in April 2023, with the 2025 convening scheduled to take place in Bogotá, Colombia.

Examples of tasks and responsibilities that the co-host will be expected to deliver include:

• Liaising with local and national government authorities on behalf of the conference
• Assisting with fundraising for the event’s core costs, and for scholarships for conference delegates
• Establishing and coordinating the Local Support Committee, holding and hosting regular meetings to arrange any local participation in the conference and its various activities
• Assisting in organising the provision of harm reduction services at the conference
• Assisting HRI’s International Review Committee with the online review of abstracts, and participating in the Programme Committee Meeting, a three-day event which takes place in London five to six months prior to the conference, during which members meet to further review abstracts and finalise the programme for HR27
• A large amount of administrative work, including assisting conference delegates in obtaining visas for travel
• Promoting the conference via various methods
• Assisting in local and national media work
• Assisting with local logistics

Although the co-host is not necessarily expected to make a direct financial contribution to the conference, agreeing to act as the main conference partner requires a significant commitment of your staff time, energy and ideas over a 12-14-month planning period.

• Who are you, and what does your organisation do?
• Why do you want to co-host HR27?
• What experience do you have in organising other conferences or events?
• Who are the key local/national partners and community organisations with whom you plan to collaborate for the logistical, fundraising and thematic/programmatic tasks?
• What would hosting the harm reduction conference mean for the harm reduction movement in your city, country and/or region? What would be the medium- and long-term benefits for harm reduction advocacy work before, during and after the event? How do you plan to use the event to advance certain local/national/regional agendas?

• How will your organisation ensure the delivery of the responsibilities and tasks outlined in Section II over the 12-14-month conference planning and delivery process? Provide as much detail as necessary to demonstrate how your organisation has the required staff capacity, experience and capabilities to deliver this event
• How does your organisation and proposed host city/country meet the criteria below, which will be used by Harm Reduction International to assess proposals?
• Can you commit to HRI's Anti-Racist Pledge? How will you work with us to ensure that HR27 furthers work on anti-racism?

Required:

• Access to legal harm reduction services - including needle and syringe programmes, opioid substitution therapy and naloxone for both residents and visitors
• Cost-effective conference facilities suitable to house a conference of at least 1000 delegates
• Accessible international air travel
• A strong hotel accommodation infrastructure to house delegates with a variety of different needs and budgets
• Political and/or financial support from the city/municipality
• No major national travel/entry restrictions

Desirable:

• Political support from national/state government(s)
• Financial support from the host city, state and/or national government(s)
• Reasonably easy visa application processes
• Strong local networks of people who use drugs, and/or other civil society allies
• Options for the satellite provision of legal harm reduction and health services in the conference venue itself
• Strong media capacity, ideally including the potential for support from local high-profile personalities and key journalists