8th Annual European Alcohol Policy Conference

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems

summary of project

In October 2018, the SHAAP conference brought together a wide variety of people involved in alcohol harm reduction activities at local and national levels across Europe.

SHAAP’s brief to Media Education was to ensure that the focus for delegates remained rooted in the human impacts of alcohol addiction (rather than statistics or other abstractions) and to create new resources for delegates to use in order for them to make arguments for the changes they wished to see (and were achievable) in their own home contexts.

our approach

Prior to the conference, we worked with people whose lives had been impacted by alcohol and alcohol addiction to create a series of lived experience films that would provide a powerful stimulus for the start of each of the plenary themes; Justice, Health, Gender, Economics, Recovery and Youth.

We also wanted to provide a means for delegates to take part in a participatory video process at the conference itself and be able to present their own views on film. We trained teams of people with lived experience of alcohol addiction to create films with delegates at the conference to share their views and insights on film.

These messages became stand-alone assets for use by delegates in their home contexts. Delegates were free to select and insert their choice of films into presentations, creating a valuable and versatile set of resources. Over 40 film assets were created for this purpose.

  • “Working in partnership with Media Education was one of the most rewarding experiences for both our staff and service users. The Media Ed workers were supportive, gentle, encouraging and enthusiastic; taking some very vulnerable women and coaching them through the process of producing their own film about a difficult subject.”

    Jan Ferguson, Edinburgh Women's Aid, Shakti Women's Aid

  • “From the outset, I have been struck by the strength of the ethos of Media Education’s approach. Adopting a film creation process that is very respectful of the lives and issues of people and communities and using empowering methods has been ideal for what we are trying to achieve.”

    Dr Trevor Lakey, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

  • “The team at Media Education have been invaluable to us, offering a flexible programme which engages young people at their own pace; encourages team work; embraces learning and new ideas; builds confidence; and encourages young people to complete a project, perhaps for the first time in their lives.”

    Karen Brown, East Lothian Works

  • “Media Education made the process fun, easy and fulfilling. Our community were central to the development of the idea, the content and the final film that was produced. We would not hesitate working with them again and look forward to future collaborations.”

    Georgia Artus, LifeCare Edinburgh

  • “Perhaps the most important aspect related to my work is that the children, families and practitioners who have been involved in filming have felt well supported by Media Education staff – they may have been nervous at first but have felt relaxed and happy at the end of the filming process.”

    Elaine Kerridge, Children in Scotland

  • “Media Education has worked with us for over nine years on the Scottish Young Carers Festival to run the radio station and to produce a consultation video. When we’ve got this resource, decision makers and local authorities can hear directly from the young carers. It’s a really powerful tool.”

    Lorna Goodwin, Carers Trust Scotland

  • “Media Education captured lots of special moments when they made several short films with the National Involvement Network. Film is a great way to share the stories of the people we support and our members loved the whole experience, especially when they got a chance to work the camera and sound recorder!”

    Brid Cullen, ARC Scotland

  • “The team at Media Education dealt with the people that we interviewed in a very compassionate and empathetic way. You don’t know that sort of thing on a piece of paper, it’s only when you see them working in action.”

    Kirstie Cusick, National Lottery Promotions Unit

  • “Being able to hear what people said in their own words and voices brought key points to life for different audiences. I was impressed with Media Education’s ability to understand what we needed very quickly, help make people feel comfortable on camera, edit to key messages and ultimately produce a very moving film.”

    Zoe Ferguson, Carnegie UK Trust

  • “Media Education listen to what the client or trainees needs are, make well considered suggestions and deliver according to time and budget. Each of my interactions garnered excellently produced, professional results – from detailed quotes to highly rated, popular training sessions – and was exceedingly good value.”

    Ailsa Macfarlane, Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage

  • “I was impressed with how well Media Education engaged with our membership and staff as well as how flexible and adaptable they were in ensuring everyone felt comfortable in front of the camera. The videos are of exceptional quality and have projected our services in a vibrant, emotive and engaging presentation.”

    Gary Seath, Scottish War Blinded

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