Once dominated by North Americans and Europeans, the Society for Prevention Research Conference now fields presenters and programs from as far away as Nepal. Those new voices were given center stage during the first day’s afternoon session—an international poster gallery of presentations gathered together in one room.

International Program and the Prevention Research Branch of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) organized the event. It’s the third year that it's been presented at SPR.

This international focus has clear benefits. The ability to learn how prevention ideas can be applied across a vast range of socioeconomic and cultural contexts is a big draw for SPR delegates.

More than 25 different programs were part of the poster session. Many of the programs had been created in North America or Europe and were being tested in a new place. One display showed preliminary findings from an Emotion Coaching Parenting Program in Hong Kong that had originally been developed in the United States. The program facilitators acknowledged that while there were cultural differences in parenting practices, early results left them confident that Emotion Coaching would have benefits for their Hong Kong families.

Other programs were being tried in a number of different cultural contexts at once. Unplugged, a drug abuse prevention initiative for 12 to 14-year-olds, began in seven European countries—Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden. It then expanded beyond the European Union into Kyrgystan, Lithuania, Romania, and Russia. Currently, it’s being rolled out to some countries in the Middle East - Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco and UAE.

Interest in Unplugged at the conference reflects its potential reach. A chief selling point is its flexibility. The program’s authors recognize that one size does not fit all and so it allows adjustments to be made during implementation. But wherever it takes root, Unplugged uses a six-phase cycle that makes use of experimental trials to measure success. Although success rates have varied from place to place, all sites have delivered generally positive results.

The Mentor Foundation had more presentations in the afternoon session than any other group. The foundation works with governments and NGO’s in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to influence prevention policy.

“We’re trying to get concepts from prevention into practice, and to the people that are interested in learning from them.” Says Jeff Lee, the Executive Director of Mentor. “It’s a two-way process”.

It's clear that SPR's global focus is no passing fancy. Next year, the entire SPR conference is dedicated to international programs and research.