Between September 16th and 20th, WFAD, representing both WFAD and Drug Free America Foundation, attended the 11th Asian Youth Forum on Drug Use Prevention hosted by Fourth Wave Foundation, Colombo Plan Advisory Programme, and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The forum brought together 150 young leaders (ages 18-26) from across 13 countries. The young leaders received comprehensive training on the effects of substance use on youth while exploring the underlying science and effective prevention strategies. The forum focuses on youth empowering, providing insights into how young people can play a significant role in drug demand reduction through active engagement and youth-led projects. It featured interactive sessions designed to nurture and develop leadership skills among the participants.
The first two days of the Forum, the youth received training on the science of prevention and effective prevention programmes. The days that followed, the youth were divided into smaller groups in which they worked on designing prevention programmes within their communities, including the needs assessment, project plan, and budget. On the final day, the groups presented their project plans to their peers and trainers. A few of the programmes will be selected and supported to be implemented.
In the middle of the week, a beautiful cultural night was organised in which youth put together various performances sharing their cultures with one another.
Simultaneously, the youth designed a Youth Declaration during the week. The Declaration was presented on the final day by the youth to the panellists, including keynote speaker Honourable Judge Devan Ramachandran, Permanent Judge at the Kerala High Court. The Youth Declaration highlighted needs reflected by the youth as well as calls and suggestions to authorities for change.
It was an inspiring week in which motivated youth had come together, share their diverse yet similar observations and challenges in their communities and become close partners to design community interventions. It was great to see so many youth prevention influencers together and engaged. It is of essence to actively include youth in our efforts since, as was expressed at the forum, the youth are the future of tomorrow but without providing them the chance today, they cannot build on the future of tomorrow. The future starts now.
We thank the organisers for a remarkable forum and for providing a platform for the youth.
At the forum, an art installation was set up by Martin George from Fourth Wave Foundation. The art installation was inspired by an earlier art work against the knife attacks in the UK. At the forum, the art installation showcased a powerful message of drug use prevention through positive peer support. The art installation and its background is explained by the creator in the video below:
Get a full impression by watching the recap video created by the team of Fourth Wave Foundation (original link)
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