HIT
HotTopics

HIT
Hot Topics

Conference 2026
Liverpool, 13 Nov

Stand Up, Be Counted

shaping harm reduction practice, policy, and community
Details: Liverpool, 13 November
Conference runs from 9am till 5pm

This year’s theme – Stand Up – celebrates the courage and commitment of people working across harm reduction. From frontline services to research and advocacy, Hot Topics is a space to share ideas, learn from each other, and stand up for approaches that protect health and dignity.

At a time when evidence, compassion, lived and living experience matter more than ever, HIT Hot Topics brings people together to share knowledge, challenge assumptions, and strengthen the movement for harm reduction.

More than half our tickets have sold already!

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Become a Sponsor

We also have a small number of supported places for people who would normally not be able to attend a conference.

Jawanza James Williams

Featured speaker

Jawanza James Williams is a Black, radical Queer, abolitionist, socialist, feminist, Christian engaged in social critique and grassroots social movement building. He has worked with the grassroots membership, harm-reduction organization VOCAL-NY for 13 years.

Jawanza James Williams’s bio

Side Events

Because a conference is about connecting

As ever, our conference begins and ends with time to gather beyond the main programme. The evening before and the evening of the conference are set aside for connection, conversation and music. Year after year you tell us these moments matter, they’re where ideas take root, friendships deepen and we remember we’re part of something bigger than any one organisation or project.

Harm Reduction Cafe

Liverpool, venue: TBC
Thursday 12 November, 7.30pm-midnight

There are times when our work feels marginal, misunderstood or pushed to the edges. And there are times when momentum shifts, when voices grow louder and our communities gather with renewed purpose. The Cafe is where that energy meets reality. It’s informal, grounded and rooted in shared experience. A place to reconnect, reflect and organise. A place to stand up together to remember that we are not alone.

Cavern Club (Live Lounge)

Cavern Club (Live Lounge) – 10 Mathew St, Liverpool L2 6RE
Friday 13 November, 7.30pm-late

Our annual Cavern Club charity event is where the HIT team finally get to relax and enjoy ourselves. Always featuring the Sensational HIT Soul Band and one or two other invited bands, this is a night of music in one of the most famous venues in the world. We know that for many people who come to our conference each year this is the highlight of the events!

Speakers

We’ll be announcing more speakers soon

HIT Hot Topics is known for bringing together people who don’t just talk about change, but actively shape it. This year will be no different, with a line-up that reflects the depth, diversity, and creativity of harm reduction work today. From emerging voices to established leaders, we’re building a programme that speaks to the theme Stand Up. Speaker announcements will be released shortly, keep an eye on this space.

Emma Roberts

ORG: Awen Consulting Services

Emma Roberts is an independent consultant with Awen Consulting Services and a recognized leader in harm reduction, trauma informed care, workforce development, and organizational capacity building. With more than 30 years of experience across community development, social care, and public health, Emma has worked extensively with organizations seeking to strengthen compassionate, person-centered responses for people who use drugs and individuals impacted by trauma.

Emma Roberts’s bio

Sue Purchase

ORG: Harm Reduction Sisters

Sue Purchase is a trailblazer and a leader in harm reduction, bringing 30 years of experience to the table. She’s been pushing forward evidence-based public health strategies that help reduce overdoses, stop the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, and make sure everyone who uses drugs has access to care that is fair and just. She started Women with a Point/Access Works in 1996, which was Minnesota’s first all-encompassing harm reduction and syringe services program.

Sue Purchase’s bio

Jawanza James Williams

Jawanza James Williams’s bio

Kojo Koram

ORG: School of Law at Loughborough University

Kojo Koram is an author and Professor, teaching at the School of Law at Loughborough University. Born in Accra, Ghana and raised on Merseyside, he is now based in London. In addition to his academic writing, he has written for the New Statesman, the Guardian and the New York Times.

Kojo Koram’s bio

Sarah Whipple

ORG: Yuba Harm Reduction Collective

Sarah Whipple is the Community Engagement Co-Director at Yuba Harm Reduction Collective, a worker-led syringe service program serving a county in rural Northern California. She is also a community organizer for the Sacramento Sex Workers Outreach Project, a Steering Committee Member of the California Syringe Exchange Programs Network, and a Board Member for the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. In 2024, Sarah received the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award from the International Network of People Who Use Drugs and the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users.

Sarah Whipple’s bio

Your Conference Hosts

The people behind the scenes making it happen

The HIT Hot Topics conference is managed by a small but dedicated team. Each year we do our best to bring you speakers from around the world that WE think you need to see.