Youth Week promotion

Using your Drug Info resources to promote awareness of alcohol and illicit drug use to young people.

Book display at Moree — Drug Info display at Moree

Many libraries are involved in events and activities during Youth Week. You can use your Drug Info resources to promote awareness of alcohol as well as illicit drug use during Youth Week and at other times of the year.

Information resources to promote

Books

Use these books from your Drug Info collections in library displays:

Healthy spirit, healthy community: a guide to drugs and alcohol within our community
A quick guide to drugs & alcohol, 3rd edition

Pamphlets

The following free pamphlets are available to order or download from the Your Room website:

Drug Facts booklets - a range of 15 titles including alcohol, cannabis, inhalants and caffeine and energy drinks
Your pocket guide to a good night out
Your guide to dealing with grog
NCPIC cannabis pamphlets
Not Our Way ice and pharmaceutical drugs campaign booklets

Downloads

Know Your Drug Facts activity sheet (PDF)
Drug street names quiz (PDF)

Website

Drug and alcohol information for young people (Drug Info)
Test Your Knowledge online quiz (Your Room)

Ideas for Activities

Drug facts

Use your Drug Info collection, including the NSW Health Drug Facts booklet collection as inspiration and resources for the following activities during Youth Week:

run the Drug Facts Street Names Quiz in your library
make a graffiti art wall on poster paper with facts about drugs, slogans, myths and messages about where to get help
host a scavenger hunt – offer drug fact related questions. When participants answer correctly you can give them a tip on how to find the next clue. Whoever gets to the finish line first wins a prize!
use the Know Your Drug Facts Activity Sheet to run a group activity
hold your own mini drug and alcohol expo with an info display of Drug Facts booklets, Know Your Standards resin kit and related books. Create a poster for your event or use the NSW Health Drug Facts booklets covers (print images from the Your Room website)
team up with your local CDAT or other community organisation to host a drug and alcohol free event in your library or local area and use the kit to provide drug fact information
set up your Know Your Drug Facts display in your Youth Area
hand out promotional packages and show bags
set up a poster display in your library foyer or throughout your library space
take your Drug Facts or resin kit along to any pop-up library events.

Make a mocktail

Use the Literary Mocktails resources to hold a mocktail making demonstration or serve mocktails at your youth-related event. You could also hold your own literary-themed mocktail competition.

Games

Host a games afternoon or night.

Use PCs or mobile devices to play The Knowledge Quiz on the Your Room website.
Or borrow a copy of the board game The Big Night Out game from Drug Info.

Drug and alcohol issues for young people

Alcohol, cannabis and tobacco are the most common drugs used by teenagers.

Young people take drugs for much the same reasons as older people, often with the added element of rebellion. However, the consequences can be much worse. Childhood and adolescence are critical times for brain development, and the brain is more sensitive to the influences of drugs and alcohol during these periods. For example, there is evidence that alcohol use in young people can lead to impaired learning and memory which can affect them for the rest of their lives.

Alcohol exposes teenagers to a greater risk of injury and harm, and doing things they may later regret, than adults.
Teenagers are likely to drink more and take more risks when drinking compared to older people.
Drinking early can cause problems with alcohol later in life and damage the brain.

Source: Alcohol and Drug Foundation , A Quick Guide to Drugs and Alcohol, 3rd edition

Promotion and reporting

Promotional material

Promotional material items such as pens, postcards, Know Your Standards pocketcards and showbags are available to order for your event or activity.

Find out about the current range of promotional items.

Reporting

IMPORTANT! Don't forget to report your event or activity to Drug Info via our online form.

Report your Youth Week event

Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media are effective methods of communication. You could use these channels to provide links to useful online resources in order to reinforce the messages and to support people to make informed decisions and choices about drinking and/or drug use.

Use the following hashtags on Twitter (and Instagram/Tumblr):
#nswpubliclibraries
#druginfolibsnsw