Objective

To spread the message of responsible drinking among young adult consumers and influence their intention to drink responsibly.

To increase awareness of the harms of alcohol abuse and the consequences of negative drunken behaviour among young adult consumers.

To make young adults think before drink-driving and to use an alternative to go home.

To turn students into real ambassadors of the responsible consumption message.

Description

The main problems of irresponsible drinking among young adults in Bulgaria are “binge drinking” and/or driving after drinking. Binge drinking is a pattern of heavy drinking which is observed all over Europe.  The commonly agreed definition of “Binge Drinking” is five or more “standard drinks” in one single drinking occasion.  This kind of heavy alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication, usually lowers inhibitions, and can lead to another serious problem among young adults, which is driving after driving alcohol.  Since there are very little educational initiatives on responsible drinking aimed at young adults in Bulgaria (information often comes from family, friends and hopefully from sites developed by spiritsBULGARIA) this programme aims to fill this gap. 

It is hoped that by using the experience gained from working with the NBU the programme will be sustained over many years and a strong bond with community and curriculums will be built.  As seen, involving students in the creative process and awarding their efforts is a beneficial factor for future interest and involvement. 

Depending on tuition and syllabus peculiarities of Bulgarian higher education, the execution of the programme is only possible in the 2nd semester starting early February each year. The programme has the following milestones:

• Pre/post survey: Students fill in a survey about their consumption habits before and after the information session.
• Information session: Students attend two 1 1/2-hour information sessions where they are taught about responsible consumption; such as the recommended drinking guidelines, binge drinking, when not to drink and reasons to drink in moderation.
• Creative competition: Students then have just over two months to create a design a communication campaign aimed at combatting alcohol misuse and abuse among their peers.  The idea is to use communication tools and language among equals as peer-to-peer communication is very effective.  They are supported during the process and receive guidelines.
• Prize ceremony: Entries are judged during an award ceremony where the winners receive their prizes, and a press release is issued in order to bring awareness to the project.

2022-2023 school year: Students attending the New Bulgarian University (a private institution in Sofia) visual arts lessons were invited to take part in the programme.  The information sessions were hosted by Assoc. Prof. Chr. Postagian, Deputy Rector of Educational Activities and Assoc. Prof. K. Christova, Dean of Visual Arts Department. The prize ceremony was held on 14 June 2023 and the jury was composed of three representatives from the NBU, a representative from the National Council for Self-regulation, a member of spiritsBULGARIA’s Board of Directors/Coca-Cola, and two representatives from spiritsBULGARIA.  The winners are: Simona Nedelcheva for “One drink is enough” (3rd place), Ivana Dimova for “Buy responsibly” (2nd place), Alisa Gjuzeleva for an online calculator of alcohol units “AlCOcalculator” (1st place).  The jury awarded a special prize to Mimi Delcheva for her project “Just call a taxi”. 

2023-2024 school year: 3 universities took part in the programme: the NBU, the NAA and the UNWE. The campaign was supported by the rector of UNWE (Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov), the rector of NAA (Prof. Georgi Yankov) and the rector of NBU (Prof. Plamen Doinov), as well as by the heads of the “Marketing” departments and the professors of digital advertising, department in “Fine Arts” and “Poster and Visual Communication” in the respective institutions.

February’s information session was followed by the creative competition which was open until April 2024.  Information session: 10-29 February 2024. The jury selected the three winners on 15 May 2024. It comprised:

• spiritsBULGARIA: Ralitsa Skorcheva-Slavova, Chair; Iva Mihova-Mitrovska, Member of the Board of Directors; Adriana Momchilova and Gergana Gevezova-Koleva, Executive Secretary.
• UNWE: Ch. Associate Professor Borislava Stoimenova, Department of Marketing and Strategic Planning;
• NBU: Associate Professor Kalina Hristova, Department of Fine Arts;
• NBU: Alisa Guzeleva, IV-year student and winner of last year’s competition;
• NAA: Associate Professor Georgi Pavlov, Ph.D., Department of Poster and Visual Communication;
• National Self-Regulation Council: Eli Gerganova, Founder. 

The prize ceremony was held on 16 May 2024 where the winners of the student creative competition were announced at an official ceremony in the Ceremonial Hall of the UNWE:

• 1st place was awarded to Varti Mavreva and Gergana Dimitrova from the NBU for “A SHOT OR TWO, AND WHAT A REACTION” (see the project here). The project is intended for social networks, public screens or as an application for phones. It is a fun reaction test game in which the player can see their reactions after drinking alcohol enabling them to stop drinking if their reactions and behaviour are affected.
• 2nd place was awarded to Isabella Dankova and Lora Tsvetkova from the UNWE for “(HOW) WOULD YOU DRINK?” The project includes a short film with informative elements and humorous details showing the place of alcohol from ancient times to the present day. A quiz emphasises the awareness of today’s young people about drinking responsibly.
• 3rd place was awarded to Christiana Nocheva and Stoyana Peneva from the NBU for “SAVE THE MOMENT” (see the project here). The project brings together several digital social media products that have one common message: “RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION ALLOWS US TO PRESERVE THE MOMENT WITHIN AN ENJOYABLE AND SHARED EXPERIENCE.”

The jury also awarded special prizes to the following creatives: “RESPONSIBLE SIP”, by Ana Lukanova and Yana Velinova (UNWE); “MAKE ALCOHOL COMPATIBLE WITH USEFUL HABITS”, presented by Bozhidara Dimitrova (NAA) and “Reaction time spirits” (see the project here), sent by Christian Kostadinov and Raya Panayotova (NBU).

The winning project will be shared with the target group until 30 July 2024.

Partners

New Bulgarian University (NBU, private university) (2022 – ongoing)

National Academy of Arts (NAA, public university) (2023 – ongoing)

University for National and World Economy (UNWE, public university) (2023 – ongoing)

Results

2023-2024 school year:17 projects were submitted to the jury. 250 people in total attended the awards ceremony.

2022-2023 school year:

• Information sessions: The first session had 15 participants, the second had 24.  A total of 39 pre-session questioners were returned.
• Entries and Jury: 10 entries were evaluated by the jury.  
• Use of the winning project: The winning project was used by spiritsBULGARIA during their drink-drive activities in September 2023.  The ALCOcalculator was also used at this time.
• Feed-back from participating students is very positive.
• “A great thank to the organisers for the wonderful opportunity, as this to some extent is a real campaign and it is important for each student to participate in such a one, facing the rivals and the topic of the assignment. We had enormous freedom to create in the direction and style we wanted, and this is exactly the kind of experience students need, because the majority of them have not been working with real clients and briefs by that moment,” Mimi Delcheva.
• “The theme of the contest is contemporary and interesting, as well as extremely important for our health and safety, regardless of whether we consume alcohol or not, whether we drive or not. We can all be victims of excessive drinking and there is always something to learn. I think today’s young people are more and more interested and want to be informed about various topics for which they must show responsibility,” Ivana Dimova.

The programme is highly appreciated by both tutors and students' bodies and has the potential of increasing awareness of Responsible Drinking among the specified traget group.

Measurement & evaluation

2023 - 2024 school year: Results will be available in June 2024.

2022-2023 school year: Students were asked to fill in pre/post information session questionnaires.  Results showed that incorrect answers decreased to 0 after the session.  Questions that showed the most improvement were:

• No 5 Which of the following drinks contains the most alcohol?: 31% of students answered “beer” before the session. This increased to 100% after it.
• No 7 “Drinking to get drunk” doesn’t hurt anyone but you: 26% answered “false” before the session. This increased to 100% after it.
• No 8 Time is the only cure for a hangover: 33% answered “true” before the session. This increased to 100% after it.

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