HISTORY
Play Now Act Now is a film, graphic design and writing competition for
young people aged 16 to 25 in NSW.
Play Now Act Now recognises that young people do and will drink alcohol and use other drugs, and sets out to minimise the harms associated with this. Play Now Act Now is a health education initiative that invites young people to produce creative resources focussing on issues associated with the usage of alcohol and other drugs eg health, social, political, moral or ethical issues.
Play Now Act Now was launched in 2001 as a key initiative of the NSW Youth Alcohol Action Plan and endorsed by the 2003 NSW Summit on Alcohol Abuse. At the time the competition aimed to examine and address issues related to the culture in which young people experience alcohol, particularly the risks posed by alcohol misuse, by engaging young people through a creative peer-to-peer approach.
The objective of Play Now Act Now in 2001 was to deliver a sustainable social and creative campaign, which specifically engaged and targeted young people aged 18 to 25yrs across NSW, to develop and canvass relevant and effective youth alcohol messages through film.
From its inception Play Now Act Now has focussed on grass roots communication and there is a strong emphasis on providing opportunities for young people to express their ideas and opinions. Creativity, knowledge, insight and an opinion on the topic is vital but more importantly, content and young people’s ability to convey a story is central to Play Now Act Now.
Since 2001 Play Now Act Now has changed and developed according to young people’s needs and ideas. This organic approach is one of the competitions strengths and has played a big role in the longevity of the project. In 2005 the competition was expanded to include other creative mediums i.e. graphic design and creative writing. This gave more young people a chance to get involved with the competition. In 2006/07 the guidelines were again adapted to include young people aged 16 and 17, and the brief was expanded to include other drugs and poly drug use.
In 2008 the project will further develop and integrate the educational benefits for young people and youth workers by expanding the Educational Resource and distributing it to schools, TAFE, youth agencies and community partners.
