We were delighted to celebrate The Smashed Project at the House of Commons on the 25th April. The event, hosted by Jason McCartney MP, was a chance to celebrate the achievements of the project to date, both in Great Britain and around the world. It also looked forward to taking our message of the dangers of underage drinking to many thousands of young people over the next five years.
The event was attended by numerous MPs, educationalists, charities, ambassadors, and business leaders all with an interest in exploring ways we can reduce alcohol related harm in the UK. It provided a great opportunity for the Smashed Project to link up in the UK with other organisations so that we can better target our activities in a more co-ordinated way.
Guests were able to watch the show, and learn about our innovative ‘dialogic’ approach when working with young people. James Taylor, our producer, guided the audience through the journey we take students on, from being passive observers to becoming active participants in making safe choices for the characters in the play.
Chris Simes presented the wider context; the growth of the project around the world and our commitment to reaching 135,000 young people in 10 countries this year alone. Alison Dowling of Diageo gave the audience an understanding of their commitment to alcohol education as a key ingredient to reducing alcohol abuse nationally.
But it was also an opportunity for the brilliant Collingwood theatre team, Smashed Project, and our GB sponsors Diageo to take stock of what has been a momentous year in the development of the project and celebrate everyone’s contribution to that. Here’s to many more years and reaching hundreds of thousands of young people!
