Hong Kong’s new alcohol law must be supplemented by education to curb underage drinking
- Young people are bombarded with multimedia images that promote alcohol consumption. Educational material must be interactive to be effective
Nowadays, young people can conveniently access alcohol-related information through various multimedia channels, which vividly associate the consumption of alcohol with fun, sex appeal, trendiness and novelty. It is tough to rely solely on textbooks or notes to impart knowledge to students on alcohol and a healthy lifestyle.
This is why Leap has adopted a uniquely systematic, child-centred and interactive approach, using augmented reality and motion-sensing devices such as Kinect, to help students learn about the body and how drugs affect it. The innovative use of technology can add to the freshness of the teaching format, motivating students’ interest.
With nearly 25 years of expertise, Leap has provided drug prevention education, including alcohol prevention programmes, to a record over 110,000 primary and junior secondary students in the 2017-18 academic year. Nevertheless, this also implies that thousands of students fail to receive our health-based programmes, making them more susceptible to temptation.
The current resources are tiny considering the battle we are fighting and the importance of educating young people on a healthy lifestyle. The whole of society has to realise the importance of the cause and invest in and support it.
Heidi Lau, executive director, Life Education Activity Programme, Lai King