For to år siden, nedsatte IOGT Internasjonalt et utvalg, med representanter fra fem land. Ett av oppdragene var å se på muligheten for å etablere et senter som samler, utvikler og kommuniserer all god visdom og erfaring i verden når det gjelder rehabilitering fra avhengighet av alkohol og andre rusmidler, tobakk og pengespill. Resultatet er et forslag til et FN-universitet om avhengighet

Av Oddmund Harsvik

Arbeidsgruppa består av medlemmer fra Tyskland, England, Danmark, Sverige og Norge. Norge erhar som eneste land, to representanter i gruppen, Odd Kjell Ingvaldsen og Nils Kristian Skarpeteig.

- Tradisjonelt har IOGT fokusert på forebygging og tiltak for utvikling av det rusfrie samfunn, ikke så mye på behandling og rehabilitering av folk med rusproblemer. På den måten er arbeidsområdet til utvalget, i alle fall en komplettering av IOGTs profil, sier Skarpeteig Harsvik Media.

Tanken er å etablere et universitet etter modell av GRID, et FN universitet med avdeling i Arendal. GRID setter fokus på internasjonale miljøspørsmål. Når det gjelder GRID, Arendal,står Norge for store deler av finansieringen, selv om instituttet går i regi av FN, og lærerne og studentene kommer fra hele verden.

- Når det gjelder avhengighet til tobakk, spill, alkohol og andre narkotika, er dette et verdensomspennende (miljø)problem av umåtelig betydning for svært mange områder i menneske- og samfunnslivet.

- Fokus er avhengighet, fastslår Nils KristianSkarpeteig og utdyper: - Spørsmålene knyttet til fenomenet avhengighet er mange. Det er derfor verdt et eget universitet.

Les dokumentet som beskriver gruppas tanker rundt FN-universitet:



A University of Dependency – a vision

The University of Dependency should be a national foundation established by a national ministry of health to support the health and social welfare programme of the WHO. The role of the University is to provide the public, volunteers and decision-makers with an improved access to high quality knowledge on dependency and rehabilitation from dependency of substance use. It would strengthen the WHO in expanding the use of such information for awareness raising, policy-making, and action. It would have international staff.

The University of Dependency would be a centre supporting independence and freedom for individuals, families and communities in general, especially in relation to alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and gambling. Additionally, the University would become a centre for gathering and accumulating understanding, wisdom and enthusiasm, and a centre for communication between individuals and groups. It will be a place for continuing workshops to abolish prejudices concerning alcohol and drugs. It will also be a training centre for the creation of values and humanity as the positive sides of rehabilitation from substance dependency.

It would be a communication centre containing a library with global links to best practises and best thinking and best hearts all over the world. These will include links to professionals and to NGOs.

Real life practices should be the foundation to all kinds of activities at the University of Dependency. Additionally it would run on-line courses in the addiction and rehabilitation fields regardless of the geographical location of the students.

Location.

It should be located at a nice place. The climate should be comfortable. The surroundings should be beautiful. The buildings should be solid and airy, with rooms for exchanging ideas in small groups and some halls for presentations There should also be space for active rehabilitation work for those living there. It should be a place where practise and theory are interwoven as an undividable whole. And, of course, it should provide space for professors and a communications centre.

The location should be part of the development of the region. It would be an all-encompassing university in a worldwide network of institutions, groups, organisations and individuals carrying out rehabilitation work in practice or undertaking scientific research. The University should become known for using common sense as well as scientifically refined methods. It should be the ultimate centre for people’s movements to prevent, treat and rehabilitate - A Global Rehabilitation Forum.

The subjects cover tobacco, alcohol, drugs and gambling. For some people the use of these give the illusion that they provide personal positive and negative goals. This is more or less interwoven in all kind of human life and should be reflected in the activities at the University.

Provisional subjects of studies:

Philosophy – what is the good life, what is life about, how do substances work in this perspectives – ways to peak experiences

Medical

- epidemiological

- physiological, genetic dispositions, medical treatments

Social

- (well covered in our draft paper)

Strategic

- What kind of impact does substance abuse have on the abilities and behaviour of our political, military and economic decision makers?

- Democracy – freedom – cultural activities – euphoria through art or substitutes. Substitute rush or rush through art of living?

- How do drugs influence war or peace? – What is the tradition of substances use? – How to rehabilitate substance users during and after the military conflicts? Torture – and use of substances.

Economic - civil and social economy

- the economy of consumption model

- the economy of the impact of intoxicated behaviour – individuals, families, communities, nations, and world.

Psychological

- (a lot of well known aspects) Educational studies - (so challenging, so many aspects)

Religion studies

- the function of substances as part of religious traditions, practise

NB: the studies of rehabilitation are of more interest than studies of dependency.