EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Sarah Oh Incorporating our projects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals The aim of the following kit is to provide each country with project ideas that will incorporate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It would be fantastic if each nation could select one or two ideas from this kit and implement them into action. Feel free to email me (my email address is in the White Ribbon Bulletin) anytime with photos, articles, and information about how your educational projects are going. I will update them on our Education Department Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/wwctu.education/. Timeline: Please give me feedback by February 1 st, outlining what project ideas you have selected and what you are doing to implement them. We can discuss what is taking place in each country and pray for one another. Timeline for Survey (End of November) We would love international input by surveying the drinking behaviors of college/university students in your country for health research. Our survey is available at: https://goo.gl/forms/bpdca8horx4wqnrj1 - Sarah Oh (Education Department Director) - Page 1
2018 Project Ideas In order for the WWCTU to incorporate the UN SDGs into our projects, the Education Department must particularly focus on Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. This is convenient for us as our work has always revolved around informing people about and protecting them from the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. According to the United Nations, there are numerous ways that we can further help achieve this goal (source: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment): 1. Start by promoting and protecting your own health and the health of those around you, by making well-informed choices, practicing safe sex and vaccinating your children 2. Raise awareness in your community about the importance of good health, healthy lifestyles as well as people s right to quality health care services. 3. Take action through schools, clubs, teams and organizations to promote better health for all, especially for the most vulnerable such as women and children. 4. Hold your government, local leaders and other decision makers accountable to their commitments to improve people s access to health and health care. 1. Start by promoting and protecting your own health and the health of those around you, by making well-informed choices, practicing safe sex and vaccinating your children. l Read up on the Resources page of the WWCTU website regularly. Read up on the latest information about the harms of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Ultimately, the best source of information regarding issues relevant to our organization s cause is available at the WHO official website: n Alcohol: http://www.who.int/topics/alcohol_drinking/en/ n Tobacco: http://www.who.int/topics/tobacco/en/ n Substance Abuse: http://www.who.int/topics/substance_abuse/en/ n Violence against women: http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/violence/en/ n Cellular phone: http://www.who.int/topics/electromagnetic_fields/en/ n Depression: http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/en/ n Suicide: http://www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/en/ Page 2
2. Raise awareness in your community about the importance of good health, healthy lifestyles as well as people s right to quality health care services. l Share resources about alcohol, drugs, and illegal drugs available to you through our network with your church and community. 3. Raise awareness in your community about the importance of good health, healthy lifestyles as well as people s right to quality health care services. l Print and share our brochure (refer to Supplementary Material I ), made by the Korean union, on the damaging effects on alcohol, smoking, and drugs. Email me if you would like the word version of this brochure emailed to you so you can edit the wording and contact details on the brochure so it applies to your local context. n Spread this brochure, or any resources about the harms of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, to family, friends, students at schools and universities (after receiving permission from the institution), work colleagues, church members, and passersby on the street. n Host an event at your church or local community where you give out these brochures to passersby along with free non-alcoholic mock-tails Figure 1 Korean youth members hanging out brochure and drinks at local university l Offer drug and alcohol education to local schools and/or churches. Many states such as Alaska don t require a statewide alcohol education program in their public schools. Only 747 colleges out of approximately 3,039 in the United States require some sort of alcohol education (National Center for Education Statistics). Page 3
n Contact the deans, principals, and heads of the academic institutions in our community and offer drug and alcohol education to our young ones. n Lecture material on the following topics is available in PowerPoint, Prezi, and Video format on our website and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wwctu.education/. (email me if you would like the digital version emailed to you) u 7 Truths about Alcohol u Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder u 5 Truths about Tobacco u Towards Total Abstinence Figure 2 Members of the Korean WCTU lecturing to two local high schools about the damaging effects of alcohol and drugs l Create and distribute a national White Ribbon Bulletin magazine (like Norway) to your local church and community. Figure 3 Pages from the White Ribbon Bulletin magazine created by Norway n Every two to three months, Norway creates a magazine filled with informative and interesting articles about FAS, FASD, the harms of alcohol and drugs, the work that Page 4
the Norwegian union have been doing etc. There are also pages for children to do word finds and mazes, and even recipes for non-alcoholic beverages! n Substitutes for a magazine could include digital newsletters, a website, blog, Facebook, newspaper, or poster. 4. Hold your government, local leaders and other decision makers accountable to their commitments to improve people s access to health and health care. l Develop an online platform where your voice can be heard to public figures. An online platform is one of the most efficient ways to allow our message to be heard to public figures like the government. n Create a Facebook Page where you can upload and share educational information with the public (refer to Supplementary Material II ). Similar to a website or blog, an organization Facebook page allows you to upload posts, photos, and videos. n Don t forget to hashtag #wwctu! By adding #wwctu to the end of all of your Facebook posts, other members of the WWCTU can access your posts. Figure 4 A Facebook Page fill of information about current activities of Korea l Write and send legislation advisory letters, submissions, and complaints to government officials (refer to Supplementary Material III ) n Writing a letter to a government official is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to inform them about our cause. Types of letters that can be sent to further the health of individuals in our community include: u Petitions and form letters that demand actions e.g. compulsory alcohol education for elementary school students u Letter of appreciation acknowledging a government official s support or contribution to an event or activity Page 5
u Letters to the mayor, president, head of a department asking for specific actions that only they can perform Figure 5 Korea has been sending annual advisory letters to the Ministry of Health and Welfare demanding drunk-driving and underage drinking prevention policies l Join me in my government project to compare the drinking behaviors of university students around the world n Currently, as a researcher at the Yonsei Institute of Health Services Research (WHO-affiliate institution) with the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on a government-funded project titled Investigation of the Drinking Behavior of College Students in South Korea n Through this project, we will be surveying 5,000 Korea college students from 456 universities about their drinking habits, and the survey results will be used to create national policies directed at reducing total alcohol consumption n We would love international input by surveying college/university students around the world! Our survey is available at: https://goo.gl/forms/bpdca8horx4wqnrj1 Figure 6 For God, and Home, and Every Land! Page 6
Supplementary Material I: Brochure Supplement 1-1
Supplementary Material II: How to Create a Facebook Page How do I create a Facebook Page? Pages are for businesses, brands, organizations and public figures to share their stories and connect with people. Like profiles, Pages can be customized with stories, events and more. People who like or follow a Page can get updates in News Feed. To create a Page: 1. Go to facebook.com/pages/create 2. Click on Company, organization or Institution and write your company name e.g. World Woman s Christian Temperance Union 3. Select a more specific category from the dropdown menu and fill out the required information 4. Click Get Started and follow the on-screen instructions Note: Anyone can create a Page, but only official representatives can create a Page for an organization, business, brand or public figure Supplement 2-1
Why write a submission? Supplementary Material III: Tips for writing a submission to government Hey - I ve got something to say..! Source: Mental Health Legal Centre Inc. Tips for writing a submission to government Governments sometimes want to review or change a particular law or develop new laws. It is very important that they hear what the community thinks about the law what problems people have had with the law, what people have liked about the law, and what suggestions people have to improve the law. Writing a submission is a good way to put forward your case in a meaningful way. It is important that lots of people and organisations with different views and perspectives are heard. This means the government department, or agency or commission conducting the review will be better informed about how the law affects people. Your voice and your views matter. an important way of being heard. You have a right to be listened to and making a submission is How do I know if my story and my views are relevant? You may have appeared before a Board or Tribunal or a court. You may have been directly affected by a decision made by a government agency such as Centrelink, or by a government department such as the Office of Housing, or by a public authority such as Victoria Police or a public mental health service. You may be or have been in the past, subject to an Order made under a particular law, such as an Involuntary Treatment Order, or an Administration Order. In all of these cases, you have experienced the effect of a law or laws. The information the government publishes about its review will usually tell what law they are reviewing or what kind of law they are developing. If your experience has something to do with the law or you have an interest in that law, then your views are relevant. But I m not a lawyer am I qualified to make a law reform submission? Don t worry you don t have to be a lawyer or have studied law to make a law reform submission. In fact, some of the most powerful and persuasive submissions come from the experiences and stories of people who themselves are or have been directly affected by the law. Your experiences are incredibly important and will shape what you think about the law. Your experiences may be unique, or they might be similar to other people s experiences. Either way, whoever is conducting the review will want to hear what you have to say. Supplement 3-1
How do I write an effective submission? Remember, you don t have to have any particular legal expertise to write a submission. A submission doesn t have to be overly technical or legal to be effective. You can write an individual or joint submission. Do I have to identify myself? Most submissions become public once they are made. They may be available on the government or agency s website. You may not feel comfortable identifying yourself. If that is the case, make it clear in your submission or cover letter that you are making the submission anonymously. Your submission may still be publicly available, but your name and contact details won t be. Even if you don t identify yourself by name, you should still explain who you are. For example, I am a mental health consumer or I have been actively involved in the psychiatric survivor movement for many years or I am a woman who was subjected to abuse in the public mental health system. What format should I use? Most submissions are made in writing. You don t have to write in any particular format. You can write a letter, or you can write a report and attach a cover letter. A hand-written submission is also fine, provided your handwriting is clear and legible. If you don t have access to a computer, try contacting your local library as many have computers and printers which you can use. You may need to make a prior booking. What style should I use? A submission doesn t have to be in any particular style, but try to write in a clear, concise way. Try to make your submission as easy as possible for someone else to read. It s a good idea to use punctuation and to separate out different points into paragraphs. Don t be put off if your spelling and grammar aren t perfect. Headings are another good way to indicate that you are commenting on a different topic or making different points. Your submission doesn t have to be long. Concentrate on the things that you know about and leave out those things that you don t have much to comment on. Explain why you are looking at some things and not others. It s a good idea to proof read or get someone else to read your submission before you send it. Supplement 3-2
What should I include? A clear heading that states what your submission is about. For example, Submission to the Exposure Draft Mental Health Bill Introduce yourself or, if making a joint submission, introduce the group and say how many are in the group. Say why you are interested in the issues and why it affects you. Strong, clear statements about what is wrong with the law or the proposed law, or what should change, or what parts should stay the same. Give examples about why you have particular views. Include evidence, case studies or stories that illustrate how the law has failed you, or what problems it caused. Examples like this that support your arguments are very persuasive. Any other submissions, research or reports you have done, or you know of that support what you are saying. Remember to acknowledge other people s work and cite it if you can, so the person reading your submission can find it. You can always attach a hard copy as an appendix to your submission. Make recommendations if you can, but if you don t feel confident doing this, outlining your concerns is just as important. Any positive things you have to say or anything that you support in the law or proposed law. Remember that there may be other people or organisations that will attack the same points and want to get rid of those parts of the law. It s important that the government hears your support. If you are willing to meet with the government or agency conducting the review, say so. I ve got some questions about the law or the review who do I ask? You can often contact the agency responsible for the review and ask them questions. Otherwise, a community group or legal centre may have a policy officer or lawyer who can help you. For more info: www.communitylaw.org.au How do I send in my submission? Check the deadline for submissions. If the deadline is getting close and you don t think you ll have your submission finished in time, contact the agency or department responsible by phone or email and ask for an extension. Many will say yes. It is better to ask for an extension than not submit anything. You can usually send your submission in by email or by post. for your submission to arrive by post. Remember it may take a day or so Supplement 3-3