About 5,000 pupils in 28 public and private secondary schools have benefited from the under-age drinking alcohol campaign of Guinness Nigeria Plc.
The campaign was implemented under a project called Smashed, an award-winning theatre and education initiative developed in the United Kingdom 10 years ago that features live drama and follow up workshop.
Guinness engaged actors from Rue 14 Studios to adapt the initiative to Nigerian cultural setting.
Guinness Nigeria Plc Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Ndegwa, said the campaign was aimed at reducing the incidence of alcohol-related harm among youths.
“Between the ages of 14 and 17, young people are most vulnerable to different societal burdens such as peer pressure and the need to fit in; this sometimes causes them to make uninformed decisions ,” Ndegwa said.
He added: “In every country, Diageo works with reputable local organisations to deliver the SMASHED programme as our Diageo Marketing Code restricts us from engaging with persons under the legal purchase age of 18.
“We partnered Collingwood Learning and Rue 14 Studios in Nigeria to deliver the programme.”
Sharing global success stories from the SMASHED Project, Managing Director, Collingwood Learning, United Kingdom, Mr. Chris Simes, it had been delivered in 10 countries around the world.
“The result of the programme in other countries has been incredibly encouraging and we have received very good reviews from both students and teachers. Building on this success, the SMASHED Project was rolled out in Nigeria and reached over 5,000 young people and teachers in classes SS1 – SS3 in 28 public and private schools across Lagos State,” he said.
Founder/Artistic Director, Rue 14 Studios, Keke Hammond, praised Guinness Nigeria for delivering the unique initiative free to schools during a three-week tour .
“At the end of this first phase, 80 per cent of the students that watched the performance and workshop said that they won’t drink alcohol underage; over 94 per cent said that they really enjoyed the programme. Also, 85 per cent of the teachers think that students who watched the performance understood more about the dangers of underage drinking than they did before the performance, while 95 per cent of the teachers feel that the performance explored pertinent and relevant issues for children between 14 and 17. Ninety-one per cent stated that they would like the programme to return to their schools next year,” she said.