Message from the retiring President

I have had the pleasure to be with Prevnet Network from its start, and serve as President at two separate periods from 1998. I am happy to have been witnessing how during this Prevnet Network era prevention and treatment workers in most European countries have found digital methods.

The start was difficult as many professionals claimed that only face-to-face services could help. Now we know that this is not true. Experiences and studies show that both online services as such, and as integrated with face-to-face services do help, and also are cost-effective.

For some time Prevnet has been leading Stilleben mainly because EU has not prioritized networks funding. Also many member organizations have been in financial or organizational changes, with key persons moving to other positions. Therefore we have seriously considered whether the fact that digital methods have become everyday methods would be interpreted so the Prevnet has done its job and should be closed down.

On the other hand there is all the time new development in Internet and mobile services. Integrating digital services to traditional prevention and treatment is still at start and much work remains ahead. Another integration trend is visible: addictions, mental health, family violence and many other psycho-social problems are now being understood to have very many common features. That means that they can benefit from the same methods and even be handled at the same time in prevention and treatment.

The third “new” is social media that is coming to a part of everyday life. Parenthesis used because discussion areas and chats have been part of Prevnet digital services already from the very beginning. However, the new SM applications like Facebook and Twitter offer wide possibilities, which should be taken benefit of.

Considering all that, there seems to be need for reviving Prevnet to advance the newest digital methods. Feasible applications can be produced quicker and cheaper by cooperation. That is why all the members of the Prevnet board meeting in Amsterdam were eager to make a new start and search for new resources and contacts.

But it was also clear that a generation change was needed. I myself had retired from my main job as the Communications Director of A-Clinic Foundation and felt that there are new and younger people needed to continue the work.

Happily, the original founder of the Network, A-Clinic Foundation in Finland, as well as Inštitut Utrip in Slovenia, were willing to take the lead and task in reviving the Prevnet. Thus the board unanimously selected Digital Services Manager Aino Majava of ACF to President, and Director Matej Košir of Utrip to Vice President.

I have known both Aino and Matej for years and I am very confident that they will develop Prevnet to a new success with support of all the existing board members.

To my pleasure I received the title of Honorary President from the board, and will naturally be available as adviser whenever need be. Good luck and success for the new lead and the Prevnet Network!

Teuvo Peltoniemi

Posted: 12.12.2011

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