Alcohol culture change

From 2017 to 2019, Council partnered with the City of Melbourne and City of Stonnington to deliver the Alcohol Culture Change Initiative 'What's Your Story? . This project supports a positive change to alcohol culture for young people, thanks to VicHealth’s $1.3 million Alcohol Culture Change grants initiative for local councils.

What’s Your Story? involved collecting stories from young adults about late night culture by using a pop-up video booth called a StoryPod. By collecting and sharing stories of young people who have made positive changes to their alcohol consumption, we hope to change the cultural norms and atmospheres that promote harmful drinking practices.

The project been successful in improving the drinking culture among young adults aged 18 to 24 years who visit late night entertainment precincts in Port Phillip, Melbourne and Stonnington.

The What’s Your Story? project:

• developed rich insights about the complex ways in which young adults participate in Melbourne nightlife without necessarily revolving around alcohol
• highlighted the value of story as a mechanism for supporting alcohol culture change
• through the process of storytelling and story viewing, achieved the desired impact of stimulating reflection on people’s own drinking practices as well as the drinking patterns of their friendship group and wider community
• engaged over 900 young adults and recorded over 150 stories about alcohol culture.