Who We Are
YODA is a network of organisations and individuals that was set up in 2011 to meet the needs of young activists and professionals who believe we need a change in our thinking about how we can tackle the world drug problem.
Approach that we tried for the past 60 years, that is based mostly on the police and prisons, proved to be ineffective in achieving its own goals – reducing the production and consumption of illegal drugs. It also created vast collateral damage: hundreds of thousands people killed in the drug wars, and millions more incarcereted.
We believe that the successful drug policy is based on the public health, and sees the reduction of the social and individual harms as the measure of success. It is not used as an excuse to violate the basic human rights of the population – especially young people, who are currently the prime victims of the War on Drugs.
Our aims are to:
- Bulid a better and healthier society for young people and children, where drug policy is based on scientific evidence and human rights.
- Reduce the social stigma associated with drug use by providing the public, policy makers, media and other organisations with the information about the impact of drugs and drug policy on young people and other vulnerable communities.
- Improve the quality of life of children and young people using drugs by informing the society about boundaries of individual drug use and the need to elaborate evidence based drug policy on local, national and international level.
- Promote drug policies based on evidence, human rights and tolerance.
- Promote reduction of social and individual harms caused by the drug use, drug policy, drug trafficking and related issues.
JAN STOLA
Jan is the coordinator of YODA since 2013. He graduated in social policy at the University of Warsaw and has 15 years of experience working in the youth and civil society sector, including 12 years at organizations involved in the field of drugs and drug policy. _________________________________
IRENA MOLNAR
Irena Molnar has an MA in Social Anthropology at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy. As an anthropologist she did several researches in the region of SEE regarding electronic music events related to culture, identities and in the latest period substance use. She is interested in social aspects of substance use that led her professional career development to engagement in drug policy and its reform. Throughout years she was involved in projects regarding vulnerable communities like Roma and youth in risk and in addition she is advocating for implementation of nightlife outreach programs in Serbia and the region. She is co-founder of NGO Re Generation where she is recently elected Executive Directress, after serving as a program director for 7 years. S
Iga Kender-Jeziorska
Iga is a PhD Candidate and Assistant Lecturer at Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB), with a main research focus on harm reduction services in Central-Eastern Europe. She has 10 years of experience working in drug policy organizations in the civil sector. She graduated in Social Prevention and Resocialisation (MA) at the University of Warsaw and in Public Policy and Management at CUB. She represents YODA at the Civil Society Forum on Drugs for the European Commission where she serves as a Chair of Working Group on the EU Drug Policy. Iga is a coordinator of a Hungarian party-setting harm reduction organisation DAT2 PsyHelp.
CIARAN WEIR
Ciarán has been working in the field of human rights, youth participation, and drug policy for over 10 years. He is the former co-ordinator of Students for Sensible Drug Policy UK where he oversaw national and local campaigns to enhance the rights of young people. He is a trained sociologist from Northern Ireland and holds a Masters of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice. His policy and research experience rests on the relationship between sexual and gender identity, drug policy, armed conflict, and social change.
PIOTR MARKIEŁAŬ
Piotr is the communications director of Legalize Belarus civic education and advocacy campaign in Belarus. The campaign is aimed at civic education about psychoactive substances and advocacy for decriminalisation of small amounts of controlled drugs in Belarus. Piotr used to study theoretical physics in Belarusian State University, but was expelled twice in connection with his political position. He is a founder of Belarusian Civic movement „Dzieja” and a coordinator of international libertarian network Students For Liberty.
MARIJA MILIĆ
Marija Milić is social worker, and she is working in NGO Juventas from 2008, first as an apprentice, then as project assistant, and now as a coordinator of harm reduction program for People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) and Sex Workers (SW). With NGO Juventas she participated in numerous trainings, seminars and conferences, regarding PWID/SW, public health, policy, advocacy, projects writing, monitoring and implementation. Also, she is a representative of DPNSEE (Drug Policy Network South East Europe), representative of EHRA (Euroasian Harm Reduction Association) and she attended Harm Reduction Academy Cycle 5 in 2018.
STEFAN PEJIC
As an anthropology student with a graphic design background who absolutely loves museums, Stefan was drawn to marketing and museology, but very soon realized that those fields just didn’t cut it for him. He needed something that was focused on making some changes in our society and that’s when Re Generation came into play. In the short amount of time he’s been a member, he’s had the opportunity to work on different projects such as making a short documentary about new psychoactive substances in Serbia, outreach work, Support. Don’t Punish campaign and a research on the effects of shutting down the needle exchange programs has on IDUs in Belgrade. He is most interested in areas of chemsex, LGBTQ health, and harm reduction in party/festival settings, but also loves making visuals and infographics, so don’t be afraid to ask for help regarding something creative.
SABÍNA BRÉDOVÁ
Sabína works for slovak civil society organization, Prima, as a Coordinator of Contact Centre. Prima operates in the capital city Bratislava as 1 of 3 organizations working on harm reduction base. Sabína has 2 years experience in working with active drug users and people working in sex business. She studied missionary and charity work at the University of St. Elizabeth. Before she started to work in Prima, she lived abroad and worked for INGO in India and Cambodia. Her work is based on coordination of activities in the contact center, writing of new projects and their implementation, implementation of primary prevention projects includes educational and promotion activities. She is also an outreach worker. Actually she has a new full time job position – to be a good mother!
LINDOR BEXHETI
From 2013 has worked for NGO Labyrinth in Prishtina, Kosovo as a Social Worker, coordinating educators and outreach work in three major cities in Kosovo, as a part of the Global Fund project in Kosovo. Most of his work focuses around harm reduction activity, including needle and syringe exchange programs and advocating for human rights of drug users. Moreover from 2013 to 2016, he was involved in different peer to peer tailored prevention programs in High schools and different lectures throughout Kosovo. As of 2016 focuses more on drug users rights in Kosovo, as a project assistant on a project financed by the European Union, which aims at enhancing Drug users rights and entitlements, with a focus on underage drug users and female drug users.
FLORIAN SCHEIBEIN
Florian Scheibein is a Deputy Director of Help Not Harm, a Community Integration Officer with Depaul Ireland, a PhD Candidate in Waterford Institute of Technology and an International Working Group Member of Youth RISE. He has a BSc. in Herbal Science, a MSc. in Science Communication and a MSc. in Drug and Alcohol Policy. His PhD research centers on NPS injecting in high risk drug users (HDRUs) and includes an investigation of practices, health implications and service utilisation.
EVA CÉSAROVÁ
Eva is an activist from the Czech Republic who is involved in various activities related to drug policy, harm reduction, psychedelics and addiction. She studied Marketing Communications and Film Production and eventually switched to Addictology (current studies) at the Faculty of Medicine, Charles University. She is partially working in the National Institute of Mental Health as a media person for psychedelic research team and coordination of a ground for Psychedelic Research Foundation. In 2014 she cofounded the Czech Psychedelic Society where she is currently positioned as the guarantee of External Affairs. Eva is also involved in the organisation of Beyond Psychedelics 2016 and 2018 conferences that took place in Prague. For the past couple of years she had been involved in the activities of an international youth led organisation Youth RISE that has now an individual Czech team.
DIMITAR KARAGEGOV
Program manager of Bulgarian Libertarian Society or Fieldmarshal at Liberty 420. – Liberty 420 is focused on legalization of all drugs in Bulgaria. Our aim is to develop tools and practices that will help less people to end up in police stations, hospitals, mental clinics and coffins.
BERINA BAHIĆ
Berina is an advanced university student of Law at the University of Tuzla. She started working for NGO Margina 3 years ago as a project coordinator for harm reduction programs in Tuzla region and a Leader of Volunteer center. Most of their work focused around drug policy and harm reduction, including needle and syringe exchange programs. Berina has attended several trainings and conferences on topics related to drugs and youth at risk of social exclusion. She has a strong will in advocating human rights, especially drug dependencies.
Catarina Lameira
Catarina Lameira is an outreach worker at NGO APDES since 2014. Her work in APDES is development in an Harm Reduction team, and international projects in the areas of drug use, employment and youth. Up to this day, with APDES she participated in numerous trainings, seminars and conferences, regarding PWUD, public health and drug policy. Her master thesis, in 2014, was about the Decriminalization in Portugal, from a users point of view. Drug policy and Harm reduction are her main interests.
Marta is a social worker, after her studies she focused on drug use. She has been working on the Neutravel Project, an outreach harm reduction project intervening in party settings(clubs, festivals, psy trance and illegal raves), from 2015. Her role is providing people with information, counselling and drug checking. Since 2018, she is the coordinator of a drop in service in Alessandria, a place where PWID (People Who Inject Drugs) and homeless are provided with needle and syringe exchange, food and clothes andare helped in taking care of themselves. She participated in numerous trainings, seminars and conferences, regarding PWID/social work, public health, policy and advocacy. Marta is also a member of the board of Itardd: an Italian network of operators, associations and local authorities that promotes, supports and defends harm reduction, as well as global drug policies respectful of human and social rights, not focused on repression.