Alcohol use is common across Europe and contributes to a wide range of health and social harms that extend beyond alcohol use disorders. Many of these harms, affecting both those who drink and others, remain under-recognized. WHO/Europe recognizes the importance of engaging people with lived experience (PWLE) of alcohol-related harm as a critical component of evidence-informed public health policies. Their perspectives provide essential insights into how alcohol-related harms are experienced in real-world contexts and can help strengthen the relevance, acceptability and impact of policy and practice.
As part of the WHO/European Union Evidence into Action Alcohol project (EVID-ACTION), WHO/Europe has successfully engaged PWLE and integrated their insights across a range of meetings and activities. Building on this work, WHO/Europe is convening a dedicated meeting to further strengthen the role of PWLE in informing alcohol policy and practice, and to facilitate exchange across experiences and contexts.
The meeting will take place in 2 half-day sessions: an online session on 21 April 2026, followed by an in-person meeting on 24 April 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Both sessions will provide participants a space to share their lived experiences, while also informing WHO/Europe’s work on alcohol. The aim is to identify gaps, blind spots and under-represented perspectives in current approaches to alcohol policy, health-care responses and public communications on alcohol-related harm, including its portrayal in the media.