The ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ media awards are launched

THE hidden harms of alcohol and the effects of drug use are the two themes that will take centre stage for the 2016 Drugs.ie ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ National Youth Media Awards it was announced last week.

The awards are designed to get conversations started about substance abuse in Ireland to try and reduce some alarming statistics revealed at the launch of this year’s competition.

Drug use among Irish youth is above the EU average and Ireland now has the fifth highest rate of drug-related deaths among under 25’s in the EU. In addition, a UN report in 2013 found that consumption levels of new synthetic drugs in Ireland were three times the EU average.  Speaking at the launch of the 2016 awards, Tony Duffin, Director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, encouraged young people to enter the competition.

“Their contributions will help in the challenge of communicating the risks associated with drugs and alcohol among young people,” he said.

Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drug Strategy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin welcomed the launch of this year’s awards.

“My first official engagement as Minister of State with Responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy was to attend the awards ceremony for the 2015 competition,” he said.

“The standard of entries was outstanding and it was clear to see from the young people I met at the ceremony that it had got them talking about the misuse of drugs and alcohol and the effects that both can have, not only on young people but the family as a whole. Coming from a background in education I believe that targeting young people with prevention in mind is one of the most important things we can do.”

Joe Doyle, spokesperson for HSE National Social Inclusion Office who fund the drugs.ie website and the media awards said the competition helped highlight problems caused by abuse.

“Parental alcohol and drug use and domestic violence are the two most prevalent problems associated with the occurrence of child abuse and neglect,” he explained.

“If we are to tackle this problem, it is vital that young people and their peers learn and talk about the dangers of drugs and alcohol in a way that gets the message across to them.”

To enter, students are asked to create a short video, an audio clip, a news article or a poster on either of this year’s themes.

The age categories for entering are 12-14; 15-17; 18-21 and 22-25. Winners from the four age categories will receive an iPad Mini and the overall winner will get the cash prize of €2,000. Winners will also have their work published on drugs.ie.

Closing date for entries is Friday, January 22, 2016. For full competition details, examples of previous winners visit drugs.ie/awards.