Objective

To reduce the number of young (under-aged) alcohol consumers.

To encourage young people to postpone their initial drinking experiences to protect them from alcohol-related harms.

To encourage young people to adopt rational attitudes towards alcohol.

To promote responsible drinking amongst young people in Finland.

Description

The programme was launched in May 2010 and is based on the Swedish “Prata om Alcohol” project.  It is tailored to Finnish circumstances and law.

Teaching material

• The modern and versatile teaching material is targeted at schools and includes in-class exercises for pupils between 13 and 17.  It is divided into four levels tailored to different life situations and drinking patterns of young people.  Discussion and exercises aim to influence young people’s attitudes towards alcohol so that they develop a healthy and moderate attitude towards it.
• Lessons are broken down into a teacher section, student section and exercise section.  They can be used in their entirety or tailored using selected parts.  They can be incorporated into a variety of subjects, including physical and health education, Finnish language studies, social studies and biology.  The in-class exercises are geared towards the needs of young people and are designed to empower the pupil to deal with social expectations and peer pressure.  Active pupil involvement and informal discussions are promoted.
• The teaching materials are compiled in a free e-book, and the content can be downloaded from the campaign website.

Promotion: 

• Teachers were made aware of the programme by an article published in a teachers’ magazine in April 2010 and by newsletter sent to all schools in August 2010.  In 2013, a newsletter on the programme was sent out to teachers during and articles in appeared in “Rexi”, a magazine for headmasters.  Teachers are also contacted directly.
• The campaign was promoted at teacher “EDUCA” fairs in 2013 and 2014.  The fairs are attended by both pupils and teachers.
• It is also promoted through social media campaigns and by taking part in school events.
• The 2019 video campaign is promoted via the Physical and Health Educators’ Association magazine. A direct email campaign and social media campaigns were also run.  
• In 2021, a new brochure for schools was published to promote the materials. Distribution was implemented by Subject Aid, an operator that supplies many kinds of additional education materials for schools. 

Programme actions and updates:

• In 2012, pupils took part in the “It’s ok to say no to alcohol” contest which ran from January to April 2012.  They were invited to invent their own style of saying “no” to alcohol by dubbing 30 seconds of a famous scene from a film (3 choices).  The best dubbings were chosen and subsequently released on Facebook and YouTube.
• Liiku ry took part in the programme between 2012 and 2018 to provide young people with a means of recreation that doesn’t include the use of intoxicants. 
• In 2016, "Alkoholibreikki" was introduced.  It consists of physical exercise and an alcohol quiz during breaks at school.
• In 2019, two videos were made and released on the programme website.  They are targeted at pupils but can also be used by teachers in health education.  The main objective is to make talking about alcohol easier and were created following feedback from teachers that a simple (YouTube) video with facts and sense of humour would help to discuss the difficult matters in class.  The programme website was also completely renewed in 2019. 
• In 2021, the web pages were re-organised and refreshed to ease access to the materials.  A set of playing cards was also produced for one of the exercises. 

Partners

Liiku ry (South-western Finland Sports Federation) (2012 - 2018)

Liito ry (Association for physical and health educators) (2019 -)

Subject Aid (2021-) 

Results

In 2021 (Jan 1st - March 30th), there were approximately 20 site sessions each month. Since August, the beginning of Subject Aid distribution of new materials, over 600 brochures were sent to schools. Website traffic was up 130%. 

In 2015-2016, 523 pupils in 25 schools were reached.

In 2014-2015, the information reached around 1,000 pupils, 500 parents, 60 school nurses and 1,032 youth trainers.

In March 2010, the books were sent to 780 schools. It has since been sent to a total of 900 schools (December 2014) which is almost all of the schools in the relevant age group.

The first e-newsletter generated over 60 personal contacts from teachers.

Measurement & evaluation

In April 2011, 324 teachers and administrators participated in a web-survey to get their feedback on the programme (72% were women).  Results show: Only about 10% were familiar with the campaign materials in advance, but they said they found much in the way of new and useful ideas, as well as useful suggestions on how best to teach the material.  These respondents appreciated the clear instructions on how to use the material.  Respondents who used the materials said they drew from relevant parts in their teaching.  Some also used task suggestions and discussion topics in the pupil's materials.  One respondent said they used the tasks related to young people’s attitudes to alcohol, group pressure and partying.  All respondents felt that the campaign teaching materials could be of use in their work.  Not a single respondent said the material would not be useful.

In September 2019, a survey was undertaken with the members of The Association of Physical and Health Educators in Finland.  The Association sent the survey link to all its members (n=1400) and 70 responses were received.  It found that

• Three out of four teachers think that alcohol consumption among 13-17-year olds has decreased during the last 5 years and 3% think that it has increased slightly.  1 in 4 teachers are very or quite worried, and 2/3 are only slightly worried about the alcohol consumption of 13-17-year olds.
• There is a clear interest in this kind of material and it is considered to be useful and more effective than lecture type teaching.  However, there is very low awareness of it among the sample.  Another challenge is the limited hours teachers have to use for alcohol education. 
• When asked about the material teachers would like to have for alcohol education, videos and group exercises were most often named. 
• Open comments from the survey include: “Thanks for sending in the survey, I was truly interested in this material!”; “In Health Education, we have many different subjects to teach, and there is very little time to discuss them.  Usually, young people are interested in tasks that are somehow related to their own everyday life, or that are accompanied by a good example.”

Website

http://www.puhutaanalkoholista.fi/

Downloads

Videos

Photo gallery