Spread The Word
Engaging young people in the issues that affect them
What is Spread The Word?
Spread The Word is a totally unique and hugely engaging project that we first devised in 2010, and we’ve run in various iterations ever since.
The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham had historically experienced high rates of teenage pregnancy so its Integrated Youth Support Service wanted to commission innovative and exciting activities to engage young people from areas where teenage pregnancy figures were exceptionally high, educating them about teenage pregnancy and sexual health.
Chain Reaction won the commission and immediately set to work to devise a project that young people would want to be a part of and that could get important messages out to as wide an audience as possible.
So how do we Spread The Word?
We decided the best way to make a real impact was to work holistically exploring the central issues of teenage pregnancy and sexual health (including addressing safe sex and STIs) but also cover related issues such as respectful relationships, peer pressure, drugs and alcohol affecting decision-making, accessing advice and support, as well as aspirations and planning for a successful future.
Putting creativity to work
We decided to run week-long workshop schemes in each of the areas with the highest teenage pregnancy rates. The project would use an exciting mix of media, theatre, and marketing to get participants (aged between 14 and 19) to initially learn about the issues and then create their own ad campaigns telling other young people why it’s wisest not to engage in risky or unsafe sex.
How does Spread The Word work?
The week is intense but it is designed to really get young people focused on what they’re doing. And with the help and support of our professional team of actors, directors, film makers, photographers and choreographers the participants really get stuck in!
Monday & Tuesday
Devising and Learning: We educate young people about the issues through the use of drama and other creative activities.
Wednesday
The Brief: We put young people in groups and give them the brief to come up with their own short viral advert, plus a slogan and a supporting poster to tell other young people about an aspect of teenage pregnancy and STIs that they feel is really important.
Thursday
The Community Consultation: We invite an audience of friends, family, and local health-care and youth-working professionals to watch the groups’ pitch their ideas and vote for the best.
Friday
The Shoot: All participants work together with our professional team of film-makers and photographers to shoot the chosen advert and poster.
The Result
Each week we end up with an amazing viral advert that’s sent to all participants and goes online via email, Facebook and YouTube. The brilliant poster also goes online and gets sent to local schools, but more importantly it gets professionally printed and displayed in poster panels on local buses and on huge 6ft JCDecaux-owned advertising sites across the Borough. What a way to spread the word, right?!
You can see some of our video work on our Youtube channel here.
“Spread The Word isn’t just good, it’s AMAZING! It builds young people up in terms of skills and group work and allows us to make a difference to thousands of other young people.”
— Jade, Participant, age 17
Contact us.
If you’re interested in learning more about Spread The Word, or would like to commission a similar project please drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you.
Either call us on (020) 8981-9527, or hit the green button to drop us a quick email.