AN initiative seeking to change attitudes towards underage drinking in Kiama has celebrated its first anniversary and is looking at building its efforts over the next 12 months.
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University of Wollongong professor and Centre for Health Initiatives director Sandra Jones launched the Kiama Underage Drinking Project campaign last October.
Project manager Kelly Andrews said the project had another 12 months to run, and generating talk about underage drinking was the starting point.
“The most important thing to do is have this community conversation.
“Talk about the positive aspects of young people without alcohol, rather than have them feel like they have to drink, everyone’s drinking and they have to drink to fit in, because it’s not true.
“In term one this year, in collaboration with the high school, every student from year 7 to 10 did a whole term’s work on alcohol and social norms.
“They got to learn about what a social norm was; how it influences people’s attitudes and behaviour, and then start to question the social acceptability, or perceived acceptability of drinking in our pro-alcohol culture.
“Some evaluation data from that showed that most students came out of that unit having understood the purpose of social norm, increasing their confidence about talking to their peers, and making decisions not to drink.
“It helped them realise that the majority of teenagers don’t drink, even though in their minds they think that the majority do.
“So it’s just shifting their perception, and reflecting the truth back to them.”
She said the “stand your ground” tagline sought to empower the community to stick firm to positive decisions regarding alcohol.
“The analogy I always say to people is 30 and 40 years ago, every shop, school, we had smoking and tobacco signage and that was common.
“No one would have thought that 30 years later it would be so different, and that was a real shift in culture… And it worked.
“So we can change the culture, and we have to change the culture if there’s to be any impact on the harms that alcohol brings.”
During the next 12 months organisers plan to be present at community events such as New Year’s Eve and Australia Day.
Their social media presence will also continue to be a key facet.
“It gives people a voice… They can still be engaged in our project through the Facebook page,” Ms Andrews said.
“It’s good because it’s generating a little bit of debate and conversation in the community.
“So the community’s starting to own what’s happening, and come together to support, ‘we don’t stand for it’.’
Organisers are also hoping to host a community forum early next year.
Ms Andrews said Kiama Council had expressed concerns there may have been a degree of community fatigue towards the initiative.
She said working together in a sustainable manner was crucial.
“In our experience, with the rapid growth of the Facebook page and the absolute support that we get at our community events, we don’t feel any sense of community fatigue whatsoever,” she said.
“The important thing to note with any social marketing campaign that requires some sort of attitude and subtle behaviour change is that it takes time.
“You can’t just blow into a town for six months, have all this razzamatazz and then disappear and expect anything to last.
“It’s a great opportunity for Kiama to embrace a longer term project, to grow together, and that’s the only way that we will show any impact.”