We welcome submissions from across the full spectrum of harm reduction, including research, policy, advocacy, service delivery, community organising, lived and living experience, education, arts and culture, and innovative practice.

Whether you are presenting the findings of a major research study, sharing lessons from a grassroots project, challenging conventional thinking, or creating space for dialogue, we encourage you to submit your work.

We particularly encourage submissions from people who use drugs, sex workers, Indigenous communities, people living with HIV and hepatitis, activists, peer workers, early-career researchers, practitioners, and people from regions that have traditionally been underrepresented at international conferences.

An oral presentation is the standard conference presentation and your abstract may be selected as part of a themed major or concurrent session, but you can also submit a proposal for a Poster, Dialogue Space, Workshop, Creative Arts or Wellbeing session.

Across all formats, competition is high. We typically accept around 20% of submissions overall, so we encourage you to make your abstract as clear and compelling as possible.

30 September 2026: Abstract submission closes

October 2026: Online Review Committee review abstracts (want to join the committee? Click here!)

November 2026: Programme Committee gathers to consider abstracts and build programme

By 31 December 2026: Abstract outcomes communicated; scholarship outcomes communicated

15 January 2027: Early bird rate ends

28 February 2027: Deadline to pay registration fee for speakers to be included in the programme

A strong abstract tells a compelling story in a limited number of words. Whether you’re sharing research, practice, advocacy, or lived experience, the most successful submissions clearly explain what you did, why it matters, and how it advances harm reduction.

What makes a powerful abstract?

• Connect to the conference theme.
• Have one clear message.
• Explain the impact.
• Be specific.
• Centre lived experience and equity.
• Write for an international audience.
• Follow the submission guidance.

Click here for more tips.

If your abstract is accepted, we will contact you in February 2027 with your presentation schedule. As it isn’t possible to accommodate requests for specific time slots, please plan to be available for the full duration of the conference.

For more details on how to submit an abstract, visit : hr27.hri.global/call-for-abstracts

The Harm Reduction International Conference is convened by Harm Reduction International in a different city every two years. Over four days of presentations, workshops, films, networking events and more, the conference provides a dynamic forum to share the latest research and discussions on best practice in drug use, harm reduction and human rights and attracts a diverse group of over 1,000 delegates and speakers including front-line health workers, academics, researchers, policy makers, politicians, UN representatives, people who use drugs, sex workers and people working in the criminal legal system.

It will take place in Belfast on 9-12 May 2027.

hr27.hri.global/