Africa's role in the drug trafficking industry is a strong testament to the interplay of supply and demand market expansion, to the hybridization of transnational organized crime syndicates, as well as to the need for a paradigm shift in domestic, regional and international approaches to drug trafficking interdiction. On May 28, 2009, the Africa Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center convened a conference to assess the situation of international drug trafficking and the increasingly important role that Africa plays. The conference brought together experts and policymakers from all sectors, including representation from the United States government, military, civil society, the United Nations, and Africa.