On the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse, the Department of Prevention at Oum el Nour launched "The Drug Awareness Lab ": a set of creative and interactive tools and activities for drug awareness, designed for children from age 6 to 18. The launching ceremony took place on Thursday June 20, 2013 at Science Village - Dbayeh, in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Science Village and Oum el Nour.
Innovative drug prevention tools
"The Drug Awareness Lab" illustrates the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis and helps youth discover how to resist peer pressure, through an interactive, attractive and age-appropriate approach. The tools are an innovation in Lebanon in the field of drug prevention. They invite youth to reflect upon serious issues, through play and discovery. The tools will be presented and animated through a permanent exhibition at Science Village Dbayeh as a pilot project. They will also be used by the Department of Prevention in Oum el Nour through its ongoing awareness activities.
Launching ceremony
The launching ceremony was moderated by Ms. Sima Antabli, Field Coordinator at the Prevention Department at Oum el Nour, and began with a short movie of the Prevention Department's projects and activities. The movie was followed by an opening speech given by the Director of the Prevention Department, Mr. Naji Mansour, highlighting the collaborative team effort that led to the development of the Drug Awareness Lab. A short speech given by Dr. Georges Mufarrej, the Founder of Science Village, followed. Ms. Veronique Salameh, Project Coordinator, then presented the steps carried out by the Prevention team for the development of the tools, from conceptualization to design, to the development of a training manual and the training-of-trainers workshop. Certificates were handed to the Science Village facilitators that participated in the training, and one facilitator (Ms. Joelle Kahhal) described her personal experience with the Drug Awareness Lab. In the end, all people attending were able to experience the new tools and activities through an animated short session given by Mrs. Grace Khawam Sarrouh, Project Developer, and Mr. Jihad Akiki, Logistics Officer. A closing speech was given by the General Manager of Oum el Nour, Mrs. Danielle Karam. The ceremony was followed by a cocktail reception.
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