Challenges information leaflet - Drinksinitiatives.eu

Questioning attitudes anddeveloping skills using theYouth Achievement Awards

Developing and Accrediting Alcohol Awarenessthrough the Youth Achievement AwardsAlcohol Awareness is animportant life skill foreveryoneThroughout adolescence and adulthood, alcoholplays a big part in people’s lives. In order to makesensible and well informed decisions about alcohol,it is important for young people to develop anunderstanding and awareness of alcohol and itseffects on their health, relationships, personal safetyand so on. Recent research and consultations withyoung people have highlighted the fact that manyyoung people are drinking at an early age, and thatbinge drinking is common amongst young peopleand young adults today. At the same time, mostyoung people have only a vague knowledge aboutsafe levels of drinking, and the short and long termconsequences of alcohol use and abuse.Developing and AccreditingAlcohol Awareness through theYouth Achievement AwardsTogether, UK Youth and ASDAN have developed theYouth Achievement Awards to provide a frameworkto recognise and accredit young people's non-formallearning. The Awards are an activity-based approachto peer education, designed to help develop moreeffective participative practice by encouragingyoung people to progressively take moreresponsibility in selecting, planning and leadingactivities based on their own interests. The peergroup model encourages the development of a widerange of life skills through a flexible and informalapproach, and lends itself to raising young people'sawareness of alcohol and related issues.By empowering young people to choose theactivities that they will complete in order to raisetheir level of alcohol awareness and achieve theirAwards they develop a sense of ownership of theiractivities and of the learning involved. This in itselfis highly motivating, but is further enhanced by thesense of achievement gained when young peopleare able to receive an accredited certificate thatrecognises their individual contribution to theactivities in which they have been involved.The main characteristics of theAwards are that they:■■■■■■■Recognise and accredit young people'sachievementsAre quality assured and nationally accreditedthrough the Awarding Body. ASDANEncourage progressive responsibility andownership of learningProvide a mechanism by which to measurethe quality of work with young peopleReinforce good practiceEncourage participation and social inclusionUtilise peer education techniquesIn terms of Alcohol Awarenessthe Awards enable youngpeople to:■■■■■■■■■■■Consider how alcohol issues affect theirown livesImprove their knowledge of safe andunsafe levels of drinkingImprove their understanding of the placeof alcohol in their communitiesPractice their skills and competence at sayingno to alcohol and avoiding unsafe situationsDevelop an understanding of values andattitudes towards alcoholEnhance self-awareness and self-esteemDevelop communication skillsResolve differences by negotiationGet on with and work well with othersUnderstand and identity with othersPlan aheadPicture: Stefan Zabel

Funded by the Big Lottery, The Drinkaware Challenges arean innovative attempt to engage young people with theissues they themselves face, and allow them to developtheir own knowledge and skills about the safe andsensible use of alcohol.The ToolkitThis project has enabled UK Youth to develop animportant new publication, The DrinkawareChallenges, which provides young people with afantastic opportunity to raise their awareness ofalcohol-related issues whist working towards aYouth Achievement Award. The resource includessuggestions for challenges at Bronze, Silver andGold; a range of information, activity sheets andworksheets; and session plans for suggestedactivities. The resource also provides young peopleworking towards their Platinum Award with a rangeof materials that they can utilise with the groupswith which they work.In addition to providinglots of useful information,the materials containedprovide an ideal stimulusfor discussion, furtherinvestigation andresearch.The resource providesyouth workers,volunteersand teachers withan invaluable access point tothis challenging area of learning and development,and is designed to support practitioners working informal, informal and non-formal learning contexts(e.g. youth clubs, voluntary organisations, schoolsand colleges) in raising young people’s awarenessabout alcohol and its effects.TrainingUK Youth are able to offer training to groupswanting to accredit alcohol awareness throughthe Youth Achievement Awards throughout the UK.Training is available both to existing YAA groupswho want to develop challenges in alcoholawareness and to organisations who are new tothe Awards. There is a limited number of freemultiagency training days for organisations whoare new to the Awards and these will be deliveredthroughout the nine regions of England and incollaboration with the country associations basedin Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.Additional SupportUK Youth are also able to provide a limited numberof organisations new to the Youth AchievementAwards who want to use the Drinkaware Challengeswith support to access the programme. This supportwill include free Participating Unit registration andfree Award booklets (at any level) for the AwardGroup of young people with which they work.Further Information:For more details about The Drinkaware Challengesand accrediting alcohol awareness through theYouth Achievement Awards, please contact:yaa@ukyouth.org

Focus and ObjectivesBronze:Young people take part in activities,organised by other people.Silver:Young people help each other to organiseand carry out activities.Gold:Young people take full individualresponsibility for organising and leadingactivities. They also give a presentationabout what they have done to achievethe Award.Platinum:Young people work independently and takefull responsibility and control of their ownactions in a leadership role.This award varies from the others in thatthe challenges are pre-set and include:■ Producing a personal development plan■ Undertaking appropriate training■ Undertaking placements working withother young people■ Producing an evaluation■ Giving a presentationExamplesJacinta attends a local youth group.She took part in activities planned by heryouth worker to help find out about safelevels of drinking, and the short and longterm effects of unsafe drinking.The group made a poster for their youthclub highlighting the things they learned.Leroy and Shahan decide they would liketo help their youth worker to plan and runa non-alcoholic cocktail party for theiryouth group. They help to find recipes, buythe ingredients and make the cocktails fortheir group one Friday night.Glynn lives in an area with a wide varietyof cultural and religious communities, andis interested in the different attitudes theyhave towards alcohol and drinking.He decides to plan and lead a number ofactivities for other young people in thearea, to explore these different attitudesand help to build greater understandingamongst young people in the area.Siobahn has grown up in a family affectedby alcoholism and attends the localAlateen group. She is concerned that manyof her friends and peers do not understandthe serious affect that alcoholism can haveon families and young people. She decidesto plan and run some peer education sessionsat local youth groups and projects, inorder to highlight the issue to other youngpeople.Ideas - 15 Hour Challenges■ Complete a questionnaire on“Facts and Fiction about drinking”■ Look on the internet in small groupsto find some facts about safe drinking■ Watch the DVD “Plastered” anddiscuss the way different young peoplein the film responded■ Take part in a talk about short andlong term consequences of unsafedrinking■ Work with others to make a posterfor their youth club■ Look on the internet and in books forrecipes for non-alcoholic cocktails■ Work together to write a shopping listfor the ingredients and help to buy them■ Help to decorate the hall for thecocktail party■ Assist with setting up the bar andpreparing the equipment they will needfor making and serving the drinks■ Take responsibility for planning aninformation evening, highlightingdifferent cultural attitudes to alcohol■ Invite a number of guest speakers fromdifferent cultural and faith groups, andtake time to explain the purpose of theevening to them■ Liaise with the local youth service inorder to book a venue, equipment, etc■ Chair the evening and introduce theguest speakers■ Film the presentations and createpodcasts for the local young people’swebsite■ Write a personal development planoutlining her plans for the peereducation sessions, and the intendedoutcomes■ Undertake training, including trainingon presentation skills and workshopplanning■ Work with groups of young people andlead sessions about alcoholism and itseffects on families and young people■ Evaluate the outcomes of the project■ Give a presentation on the project to ameeting of the local service users groupof the Drug and Alcohol Action TeamThe Drinkaware Trust7 -10 Chandos Street London W1G 9DQTel: 020 7307 7450 Fax: 020 7307 7460E-Mail: info@drinkawaretrust.org.ukWebsite: www.drinkawaretrust.org.ukRegistered Charity No.1094586.Registered Company No. 4547974.UK YouthAvon Tyrrell, Bransgore, Hampshire BH23 8EETel: 01425 672347 Fax: 01425 673883E-Mail: info@ukyouth.orgWebsite: www.ukyouth.orgRegistered Charity No. 1110590.Registered Company No. 5402004.© UK Youth and The Drinkaware Trust 2007