Project partners Municipality Kollumerland c.a (Nofa)
Contact data
Gemeente Kollumerland c.a
Marcella Jansen
tel +31 511458892
e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
NetNix
Loes van der Til
tel +31 6 51114677
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Kabelnoord
Gijs van Hesteren
+31 6 53536162
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• Dealing with alcohol and drugs abuse by young people in rural areas • Involvement of the target group in the process / project • Information focussed on a social problem
Key words participation, video, alcohol prevention, youth, campaign
Main problems to be solved (analysis) In the region North East Fryslân the use of alcohol is an established phenomenon. Not only adults (parents) drink alcohol, but also young people and in recent years more and more young people begin to drink alcohol. Drinking alcohol regularly is considered "normal", is part of the culture in this region.
We can say that young people indulge in undesirable alcohol abuse. This effects their health (irreversible brain damage), has potential negative consequences for their personal development and therefore for the future perspective of the young people and the region. The damage caused by excessive alcohol consumption is not limited to those who drink, but also affects the environment. Young people who have drunk more often cause nuisance and there is a correlation between alcohol and committing offenses such as vandalism, violence and victims in traffic.
Policy frameworks to be dealt with/fitting in 1. Preventive youth-health care. Organizations: GGD Fryslân; GGD is a health service for all municipalities in Friesland and focuses on promoting health and preventing disease.
2. Regional level: the Masterplan North East Friesland, with its implementation program ANNO. Quote: “In 2030, NO-Friesland will have dealt with demographical change, it will have accomplished a stable socio-economic equilibrium and offer perspective for young people”.
3. Provincial level: the province of Fryslân has formulated the following ambitions: - Children in Fryslân do not drink alcohol before the age of 16 - Youngsters (16 and 17 year) and young adults (18-24 year) deal with alcohol in a responsible way (“Projectplan Fries Jeugd en Alcoholbeleid”, 2008);
Aim of the project 1. The goal of 'Tinke net drinke' was to raise, describe and discuss a social issue in the region; alcohol abuse among young people. 2. Ultimately, we aimed at reducing the amount of youngsters below 16 years, drinking alcohol by making them aware of the risks to health, the potential consequences for their personal development and thus for their "future". Information and education about alcohol consumption will be more striking, when it is part of a bottom-up campaign, when youngsters are involved (with young people, by young people) in the whole process, and by using their means of communication (social media: hyves, YouTube, Twitter). 3. Youngsters from secondary schools work with trainees from secondary and higher education and entrepreneurs from the region and create their own "user generated content '. This makes this approach special: the involvement of the target group. 4. By involving them in the whole process and the content processing, it becomes “their” project and their “product”. This enhances the chance that they will spread the product (the films) among their friends. 5. In order to measure the results, we intent to execute an additional study (start January 2013). The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the videos of the project Think, don’t Drink. Of course, as regards whether or not be aware of the consequences of alcohol consumption and, secondly, of any effects on the amount of alcohol used. The target group will be split up in two groups: the makers of the videos and the viewers of the videos. There should be what the effect is when the makers of the videos. There must also be determined what the effect is at the viewers of the videos.
Results 1. 4 movies / “anti-alcohol”-commercials are produced, by 4 groups of at least 5 young people from around Kollumerland They are supervised by Foundation Netnix, trainees of Stenden (Training Media & Entertainment Management) and Virema Video Productions. 2. Young people came into contact with different parts of the production process and co-operated with the parties who contributed to the production of commercials. 3. In December 2011 a media campaign has taken place using social media (facebook, Twitter, Youtube) and RTV NOF. These multi-media channels fit in with the perception of the target group and have a broad regional audience. In addition, a press release has been sent to local newspapers and news sites to publicize the campaign to give. Result: early April 2012: about 2,900 views on YouTube. 4. The release of the movies has been accompanied by a contest. The answers could be found on the internet. This quest for answers led the participants to different pages with useful information about alcohol consumption. 5. The winner of the contest received an iPad. In addition, a prize has been raffled among the people who used social media to increase awareness ("share" on Facebook, "retweeting" on Twitter). 6. NetNix has illustrated successful rural scenarios through the production of multimedia projects. Not only video productions were the end result; even more important was the process of producing them, by young people, for young people. 7. We do not know how the approach effects the behavior of young people yet. Therefore we intent to carry out a follow up investigating the effect of the method (see above).
Outcome within the WP 1. The four video productions are a non-verbal interpretation of the objectives of WP3. 2. Within the Work Package, young people have developed improved understanding of the dangers of alcohol and the social consequences of its misuse. (not measured yet; see the above paragraph “results”, 7) 3. The method (involvement of the target group to produce a movie to raise, describe and discuss a social issue) has been presented to the project partners, and in Vejen this method is applied to a different problem / issue. The idea in Vejen was to produce an information video about incontinence and they involved a class from 11. grade and their teacher. A first attempt was made but the nurses thought it should be edited and chanced a bit to be useful as a municipal info video. In Vejen they are now going to try once more and hopefully the outcome will be more useful.
Outcome for the region as a whole (impact of the project); effects may be written in terms of the sustainability triangle = 3 P approach (people, planet, profit), i.e. benefits on the social, economical and physical part) 1. Enhanced contact and interaction between local government, social institutions and young people. 2. A better mutual understanding between young people and local government. 3. Increased ‘marketability’ of the regions. Young people gained a better understanding of their environment. 4. The young people involved have learned to question the consumption of alcohol in large quantities. The goal of the project is prevention, by creating awareness, education, giving information. Because many parents drink and set a bad example, one of the films focused on the behavior of parents. In this film also parents are involved as actors (the film “Krekt syn heit” (“Just like his father”). Of course there are alternatives to inform young people about the risks of drinking alcohol, but usually the information is given “from above”: folders, lectures, discussions, theatre programs. Our method is an attempt to work from “bottom up”, i.e. not presenting a theatre play / performance by actors, but making a film with the youngsters themselves being the actors. It is difficult to chance habits that are part of a culture. People need to have seen a message 7 times, before the message sinks. We do not think this is the ultimate method, but just one of a range.
Planning 2010: pre-production phase. Building of contacts between regions, determination of exchange, multimedia scenarios and production scope. 2011: production phase and presentation phase.
Implementation of the project (cf. CAA) which stakeholders were involved? Foundation Netnix, trainees of Stenden Hogeschool (Training Media & Entertainment Management) and Virema Video Productions. Furthermore: High school in Kollum, parents, sporting clubs, the ambulance service.
what process did you run through to fit the project into local conditions? We involved several local groups and institutions, local actors, local secondary school, sport club, and local media.
how did you sustainably implement the project (locally, regionally)? The films are on the internet (YouTube); this is not locally or regionally delineated. We indicate or remind the secondary schools of the existence of the films, and ask if they also use these in their educational program.
The project is mentioned as one of the “best practises” in the toolkit of interventions on the Information and Knowledge Centre of the province Fryslân (Youth and Alcohol) http://jeugdmonitor.partoer.nl/infotype/webpage/view.asp?objectID=15205
KEY QUESTIONS LIST
1 Which successes were achieved so far in the pilot project? See “outcome within WP” and “outcome for the region”. Another measurable success is the number of views on YouTube: 2900 (April 2012). In what way this specific intervention effected the behaviour of young people is still t to be measured (study starts Jan. 2013, see above).
- what is the background / main reason for these successes? The participation of young people during the process, making it “their product and their message” and the use of the communication network of the target group: youngster (YouTube, Hyves, Twitter).
- what set-backs or problems did you face and what were the reasons for this? Users of social media seemed to be careful with their attention. In order to feel called to publicize this initiative, youngsters want something in return. Via Hyves a personal message was send to all contacts with all the necessary information about the video clips and contests. This personal approach resulted in reactions.
- are there any break-down patterns to be recognized in the project? The first commercial is viewed on YouTube about 2000 times, but that the subsequent commercials drew significantly fewer viewers. A challenge for next time is to make sure that more people continue to view the products. Probably by means of a cliff-hanger at the end.
- what are the DO’s and the DON’Ts of the project? The video needs to be of a good quality (professional look and feel); not a kind of “home video”, good script and good actors, even if they are amateurs.
The choice of social media needs to correspond with the target group: do they use Hyves, Twitter or Facebook and in what way? That depends on age and this may change.
- what are critical success factors in this project? The involvement of the target group (students of secondary school, the sports club as well as parents) as actors and participants in the process of moviemaking. The publicity by social media that is used by the target group.
2 What are the expected boundary conditions for the project to be implemented? - in terms of policy frameworks The subject must be part of policy, in our case the municipal and provincial policy aimed at reducing alcohol use.
- in terms of physical circumstances In our case there was an organization that makes film productions with young people. That ditch seamlessly to the objective of the project. That is not possible everywhere, but commitment to the target group is much an advantage.
- in terms of involvement of people / partnerships / entrepreneurs / public bodies Cooperation with stakeholders (in this project e.g. the school, the sports club, parents, students, etc.).
- in terms of budget and financial support Budget needed: approximately € 30.000. Possible more when the movies are made with a company for profit (Netnix, the organisation we worked with, is a non-profit foundation).
3 Which related projects can be studied or consulted (other innovative best practice examples) before starting to think on implementation? Another film about the subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POaJ6uggLAI&feature=player_embedded
Other possible interventions on the subject “alcohol”: The toolbox “de arkbak” ; the toolbox provides governments or organizations with examples of possible interventions focused on alcohol consumption by young people. It offers the opportunity to find and easily evaluate whether an intervention could fit in their own situation. Interventions can play a role in different settings (home, school, leisure, movement), and they may have different goals (prevention, limiting availability, maintenance and support). The interventions that have been collected, are also arranged in that way. You will find the entire schedule, with clickable links (unfortunately in Dutch): http://jeugdmonitor.partoer.nl/sjablonen/2/infotype/extpage/view.asp?objectID=12101
4 What is the applicability / transferability of the project? a) as derived from the project results - in terms of critical mass (physical, social, budget) This depends on the extent of the project and exposed the subject from multiple angles (youngsters at school, at the sport club, parents), so we have chosen to make 4 films. In other situations one film may be sufficient. The scale of the project and consequently the critical mass and the budget needed can differ.
- in terms of the needs of the region or location The method can be used to raise, describe and discuss any social issue in any region. The subject, message and context can differ, but the method is applicable everywhere. The message can be spread by the internet; nowadays this is accessible all over the world. However, if the message is intended for another target group, e.g. elderly people, it might be necessary to adjust the medium.
- in terms of the starting point for implementation You need a clear problem definition, a clear message (ingredients for a good script) and a group of creative and enthusiastic participants (volunteers) and some professionals to make a professional product.
- in terms of participation and organization The implementation of a project of this magnitude needs to be done by several professionals. During the project “Think, don’t drink” a substantial part of the coordination of implementation depended on one person.
- in terms of time needed for implementation This project has been executed during a period of 2 years (starting from the project definition up to and including the media campaign). The production of a film takes less time (3 – 4 months).
- in terms of expected outcome (spin off for other fields: physical, social, economical) If young people can be influenced by the message of the films, this has a positive effect on their future perspectives (less brain damage, no negative effects on their learning capacity). Drinking less also means less traffic accidents caused by driving under the influence, less vandalism and thus less damage and costs for the community. In case of producing a film about another social issue, the spinoff will of course be of another kind.
b) as derived from testing or implementation the project or the project results elsewhere. What were the results there? Not done (yet).
5 Which tools does the project bring in to alleviate / help starting up implementation elsewhere? - Project plan - Co-creation as a systematic approach: with youngsters for youngsters (must still be documented) – peer based information - Documentation of the process (the process is the tool) = a concept
6 Sustainability a) How is/can the project be sustainably implemented? What is needed to reach this? - in terms of organization Once the films are produced, they need to be viewed. Preferably for a longer period of time. Therefore the project should get more publicity and should be adopted by the organizations which work with young people, such as youth workers, schools, sporting associations. The movies should have to be part of the educational programmes and information campaigns. The municipality has regularly contact with these organisations and will keep asking attention for this.
- in terms of regional / local networks/partnerships / people The project is mentioned as one of the “best practises” in the toolkit of interventions on the Information and Knowledge Centre of the province Fryslân (Youth and Alcohol) http://jeugdmonitor.partoer.nl/infotype/webpage/view.asp?objectID=15205
- in terms of budget If the films are successful and spread by social media, no budget is needed. Once the production is ready, it can be used without further costs.
b) what are the benefits of the project seen from the Profit, Planet, and People side?
The use of alcohol at a young age is not without risks. Alcohol at a young age can lead to irreparable damage (physical) and poses a greater risk for alcohol dependence later in life. When damage is to think of a black-out, brain and nerve damage or alcohol poisoning, but also to a greater chance of heart disease, unsafe sex and even infertility. The damage from excessive alcohol consumption is not restricted only to the person who drinks, but also affects the environment. Young people who have drunk more often cause nuisance and there is a consistency between alcohol and committing offences such as destruction, violence and victims in traffic. Seventy per cent of the entertainment violence is caused under the influence of alcohol. In addition, there are more than 250 people nationwide in traffic and hitting more than 3000 road users injured, all because of driving under the influence.
This project can contribute to the prevention of these effects.