Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's an honour to be here.
My name is Pall Rikhardsson. I'm the chief executive officer of an organization called Planet Youth. We are dedicated to exporting and adapting the Icelandic prevention model to different contexts around the world.
I want to explain what that particular methodology is.
The Icelandic model is a system of prevention focused on demand reduction when it comes to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. It originated in Iceland. It was developed back in 1995 or 1996, when drug and alcohol use was running rampant among Icelandic youth. If you asked a random teenager back then whether he or she had consumed alcohol and been drunk in the past 30 days, the answer was yes, at 42% or 43%. If you ask a random teenager today in 2024, 6% will answer yes to that question.
The methodology was developed over time. We at Planet Youth have systematized how this model is implemented and adapted to different contexts. We are currently in 22 countries, operating with 53 partners—15 in Canada are focusing on adapting the model. The model itself is based on sociological theories dating far back about the importance of the social environment for kids. In every kid's life, there are four factors that are very important in the social environment, and very important for how they develop and behave: family, peer group of friends, leisure time and school, since that's where they spend most of the time. The tenets of the Icelandic prevention model focus on changing the social environment and these factors so that kids, as they're growing up and becoming teenagers, will make different decisions, which impacts the risk of them becoming substance users.
The model itself is based on different principles and focuses on the social environment, not on individuals. It doesn't focus on telling kids to just say no. It focuses on changing the social environment around them, so they will behave differently when they grow up. It emphasizes community. Community action is at the root of this prevention system, so we engage and empower that community through data and the ability to define actions based on that data. It also acknowledges that this is a challenge that just takes time. It is not a magic solution or silver bullet. This is something that needs time to work.
The method itself is based on 10 steps. The first two are preparation. The next three are collecting data from the children and giving them a voice so they can tell us how they are feeling and about relationships within the four domains I described earlier. After that, the data is put to work. We define actions and dissemination strategies. Then we implement those over time. Now, the data element is critical. All of our partners base decisions about what to do on data. In the model and in our work, getting data back to the partners within eight weeks, regardless of how many students are surveyed, is critical, so they're basing decisions about the kids on fresh data—right here, right now.
The guidance program we run is divided into five-year processes or programs. The first year is when we establish a baseline. There's a knowledge transfer. Then we define what to do, implement that and measure again in the third year—not the same kids but rather the kids subjected to the interventions. Basically, we're measuring the impact of interventions, not individual kids. The fourth year is an implementation year, and the fifth year is a measurement year again. The whole idea is that communities become self-sufficient and continue this process without the help of us or other agencies after that.
We are very much focused on the impact of this. Like I said, we're in 22 countries with 53 partners, and we are running evaluation studies of the interventions being carried out in those contexts. To reiterate, we are not exporting what was done in Iceland. The model does not include interventions. We're exporting and adapting the process by which these results were achieved in Iceland. The interventions and actions always have to be contextual, as we are seeing in the Canadian projects.
The evaluation studies do support that this is having an effect, both on the processes that are being carried out and the impact of the protective factors on the outcomes.
Thank you very much.