By Amy Looker
DrinkWise Australia has launched its latest campaign in conjunction with The Sports Australia Hall of Fame, encouraging parents of teenagers to be more aware of their position as role models when it comes to alcohol consumption.
The ‘Under Your Influence’ campaign enlists the help of Australia’s leading sporting stars to act as ambassadors and communicate to parents the need to demonstrate responsible drinking behaviours and to engage with children on issues associated with alcohol.
Chair of the DrinkWise Australia board, Trish Worth, said the campaign draws on the successful strategies of Australia’s premier sports people and urges parents to apply them to everyday life.
“The ambassadors explain how their families successfully handled issues around alcohol and now deal with these issues as parents and mentors,” she said.
”Families are like teams and the strategies that make teams successful, like effective communication, also make for effective parenting.
”No less important is the conversation that we will be encouraging between the parents, relatives, friends, teenagers and engaged community members who will use the social platform we are building to share their experiences as role models and parents.
”They are the ones with the stories to tell, the questions to ask, and the ideas to influence a more informed and positive drinking culture in Australia.”
Central to the campaign will be videos featuring the ambassadors of The Sport Australia Hall of Fame and experts like Professor Ian Hickie of the Brain and Mind Research Institute and accident and emergency physician Dr Andrew Rochford, which will be used to foster a national conversation about the role of parents in influencing their childrens’ attitudes and behaviours toward drinking.
Click here to view the video on YouTube.
Ambassadors featured in the ‘Under Your Influence’ campaign include Olympic and World Champion swimmers, Susie O’Neill and Kieren Perkins, America’s Cup Yachting hero John Bertrand, rowing Oarsome Foursome’s Mike McKay, former Australian netball captain Liz Ellis, aerobic champion Sue Stanley and World Champion marathon runner Robert de Castella.