Northern Ireland students will be the first in the world to experience the ‘Smashed Live Virtual Tour’,
a global programme that is dedicated to supporting young people in resisting the peer pressure of
underage drinking, as it is live– streamed into classrooms.
Northern Ireland will be the first region to host the virtual tour with the two–week programme which
was launched on 12 April set to reach over 4,500 children aged between 11yrs and 14yrs. Education
Minister, Peter Weir, joined Year 8 pupils at Ashfield Boys High School for one of the world’s very
first performances and to see how engaging with young people can help them make the right
choices around alcohol.
The programme, which has been running for five years in Northern Ireland, has traditionally been
delivered through live performances, however, in 2021, Smashed has been updated to replicate the
interactive excitement of a live theatrical performance and workshop in a format that allows
engagement ‘in school’ in a covid–safe way.
Led by Collingwood Learning and sponsored by Diageo Northern Ireland, Smashed is a theatre based
programme to educate young people on the dangers of underage drinking in a way that is creative,
engaging and hard–hitting. The performances which are being live streamed from a purpose built studio space, seek to empower young people by equipping them with the information, awareness
and confidence to make responsible choices around alcohol.
Education Minister Peter Weir said:
“I fully support the ‘Smashed’ programme which to date hasbeen delivered to 50,000 students across Northern Ireland. “This important programme, which is aimed at the prevention of underage drinking, educates ouryoung people about the dangers associated with alcohol misuse and providing them withinformation, awareness, and confidence to make responsible choices around alcohol. “The Executive places huge importance on tackling the issue of alcohol misuse and programmessuch as ‘Smashed’ have a very positive impact not only on our young people’s lives but also on ourlocal communities and wider society throughout Northern Ireland.”
“Working in partnership with Collingwood Learning we have had an overwhelming response fromstudents, teachers and stakeholders since we introduced the Smashed programme five years ago.This last year has been like no other and the challenges of COVID have highlighted the need for all of society to be alive to, and help address, the challenges, needs and expectations of youngpeople. “It is for these reasons that we are especially pleased that Northern Ireland is hosting the firstever virtual Smashed series reaching a further 4,500 students and ensuring that the programmecan be delivered in a way that provides the impact, relevance and engagement of a liveperformance. We are delighted that through this programme and our current activity we will havereached over 50,000 pupils in Northern Ireland over the past five years with our messages ofpositive drinking. “We are grateful to the Education Minister for his participation in today’s session and his supportfor the wider programme. We are fully committed to partnering with the Department ofEducation and the wider Executive in helping younger people to make the right choices aroundalcohol.”
Within the virtual performance, students will experience a live theatre production presented by
professional actors accompanied by interactive workshops, evaluation and teaching resources for
schools, which have been endorsed by The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations, and
Assessment in Northern Ireland.
The Smashed Project is now live in 25 countries and has reached almost 1 million young people
globally. The launch of the Smashed virtual tour in Northern Ireland supports Diageo in achieving its
Society 2030 ambition of educating over 10 million people on the dangers of underage drinking.
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