ARAPO Updates Summer 2005
At the same time as the Alcohol Policy Network receives a facelift with a brand new website, you will also notice a new face around APOLNET. The new ARAPO Program Coordinator, Rebecca Fortin, has begun filling this role and has joined the efforts to reduce the impact of alcohol advertising among youth. Rebecca is a recent Honours Bachelor of Science graduate in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo. Though this program, she has gained a solid foundation in areas of program evaluation, health promotion, health behaviour change and epidemiology and is thrilled to finally apply to these learnings to the real world. Her contact information is on our website. Recent conference: "Risky Drinking – The Un-Conference" "Risky Drinking – The Un-Conference", was an unconventional convention that brought together over 50 young people from across the province with the support of health promoters, researchers, and marketing professionals to create youth-to-youth messages regarding risky alcohol use. The conference took place at the Bank of Montreal Institute for Learning, Scarborough from June 26 to June 28, 2005 where youth and the young-at-heart created new connections and let creative juices flow. The one-and-a-half day conference was kicked-off with a number of presentations from researchers and media professionals. These presentations provided the background information about under-age alcohol use and the media aimed at youth from an international perspective as well as a Canadian perspective. Dr. David Jernigan, a world renowned researcher at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and the keynote speaker, specializes in youth alcohol problems and prevention. Dr. Jernigan spoke about the harmful effects alcohol marketing has on youth. Other presentations included representatives from Much Music, Youthography Youth Marketing, Fingerprint, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Miller Neighbour & Associates. "It was very informative and I learned a lot about how youth marketing works." The remainder of the conference focused on allowing the youth participants to explore and create messages surrounding risky drinking. Creative directors lead participants through marketing and advertising concepts, and creative breakout sessions to get ideas flowing. Youth delegates participated in theatre, graphics, and broadcasting workshops to develop messages and resources surrounding risky drinking. Their messages were based on what they learned throughout the presentations and their own creative ideas. These excellent ideas were then shared with the larger group and a conference summary paper will be written, which is due out in July. "This was one of the best conferences I have attended. It was excellent to hear directly from youth about what messages/approaches work and what the issues related to risky drinking are from THEIR perspective. The things I have heard have given me food-for-thought for programs, planning, and implementation." The development and implementation of a social marketing campaign based on the ideas brought forth at this ‘un-conference’ will start September 2005 pending funding from Health Canada. The conference was co-hosted by Parent Action on Drugs and the Ontario Public Health Association and financially supported by Health Canada. "One word to sum up the conference would be EXPERIENCES!…all being discussed on the issues around ‘risky drinking’."
Upcoming Teleconference: Alcohol Advertising and Youth As a follow-up to the "Risky Drinking – The Un-Conference", ARAPO and APN are hosting a teleconference on Wednesday, July 27th, 2005 entitled Alcohol Advertising and Youth. Dr. Marvin Krank, Nancy Miller, and Diane Buhler are scheduled to present. Dr. Marvin Krank is a professor at Okanagan University College, Kelowna, British Columbia and has been conducting extensive research in the area of psychological determinants of drug use and drug effects. He is currently the Principal Investigator for the Project on Adolescent Trajectories and Health (PATH), which is looking at the long-term effects of risky behaviour (including alcohol use) among youth. Dr. Krank will be speaking on "The Effects of Alcohol Advertisement on Youth: Changes in Cognitive Processes Associated with High Risky Drinking". Nancy Miller is from Miller Neighbour & Associates and was a presenter at the "un-conference". She is a practitioner in social marketing with extensive experience in researching, implementing and evaluating health behaviour change interventions. She has worked with a number of government agencies and not-for-profit organizations to design appropriate and effective social marketing campaigns. During the teleconference, Ms. Miller will be addressing risky drinking and social marketing. As well, Diane Buhler, Executive Director of Parent Action on Drugs (PAD) will present a report summary on the "Risky Drinking – the Un-Conference" and plans for the next steps regarding a media campaign. Check out the online registration form for more details. ARAPO gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for its programming. ARAPO is the host of APN's Alcohol Advertising Information Pack. |
