(introduction...)
Drug abuse is a complex phenomenon: its prevention demands that
a whole range of intricate theoretical and methodological measures and
techniques be set in place.
This document proposes to analyze the conceptual and practical
field on which preventive actions are based, in order to be able to define
preventive education - its epistemology, its role and the supports it uses - in
relation to UNESCO's objective of contributing to human development. To this
end, the document describes and examines a variety of theoretical and technical
measures, target audiences and criteria for selecting partners in preventive
education programmes.
The abuse of drugs is a human phenomenon and, as such, must not
be challenged in the same way as other phenomena. For the first time in the
history of humanity, we are faced with an epidemic which attacks and undermines
the very fabric of society, and not just the physical body of the individual.
Because the phenomenon is so complex, it necessitates solutions which integrate
several theoretical disciplines (interdisciplinarity) by means of a transverse
analysis (transdisciplinarity) of practices which take into account the
qualitative aspects of human development.
The massive eruption of problems linked to drugs in modern
society calls our lifestyles and the political, economic and socio-cultural
organization of our societies quite radically into question. It equally raises
questions about the place of the symbolic dimension in our cultures. An issue so
complex and of such growing magnitude cannot, however, be dealt with in a
simplistic and voluntaristic manner ("just say no"), or by strategies of an
essentially aggressive nature, such as "war on drugs".
According to Baudrillard «It is imperative to realize
that the problem of drug-taking must be approached with sensitivity, and
(because it is an ambiguous problem) with strategies that are, themselves
ambiguous. The best form of prevention is to introduce a symbolical element into
the social strategy, a difficult undertaking which involved flying the fact of
today's excessive rationalization and social organization. Lack of a ready made
solution does not spell failure, and we must at all costs avoid clear-cut
unilateral strategies of denunciation, whereby one kind of society takes
complacent refuge in its own hypocrisy. Drug-use is a question to which there
are no glib answers»
In the face of an issue of such complexity, UNESCO's role is to
propose a wide range of integrated actions which link together all types of
knowledge and skills (interdisciplinarity). UNESCO's programme of preventive
education was planned so as to embrace the ideological, cultural and spiritual
dimensions of society. It suggests horizons for action which traverse social
domains as varied as sports, technology and the arts, all of which are essential
for human development, for the promotion of tolerance, peace, democracy and the
respect of human rights.
1) Jean Baudrillard. The Courier, UNESCO, July
1987
