For reducing underage and heavy episodic drinking, action needs to be taken by authorities closest to the citizens and where alcohol consumption actually takes place – on the local level. A coordinated local alcohol strategy has proven to be the most promising approach. Municipalities have the public responsibility and power for implementing such a strategy and are the appropriate authority for this task. With “Localize It!” municipalities will be supported in developing and implementing custom-fit local alcohol strategies.
Localize It! aims at strengthening municipalities in their capacity to reduce underage and heavy episodic drinking. Coordinated and custom-fit local alcohol strategies will be developed, implemented and evaluated for two municipalities each in AT, BE, CY, CZ, DE, EL, IT, NL, LU, PT and SK. Seven different settings for alcohol prevention will be addressed including parental work, schools, children in families with alcohol problems, alcohol in public space, party scenes, festivals, gastronomy & retail, refugees and traffic safety. For each setting good practices will be researched, assessed and exchanged at a European conference. Those good practices will serve as a pool of measures for individual local action plans.
By means of a Rapid Assessment and Response (RAR) an overview of the individual local situations will be provided and awareness of the problem will be raised among relevant local actors/stakeholders. Round tables will be established in the municipalities which will function as steering committees. The round tables will develop individual action plans for one of the seven settings, including at least four different measures. The development of local and European networks as well as the specific measures will be evaluated by means of a process and outcome evaluation.

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ALLCOOL is a project where a consortium of research and collaborating stakeholders in 3 South European countries (Portugal, Spain and Italy) aim to tackle the growing trend of Heavy Episodic Drinking (HED) in the region. More research is needed to analyse the relationship between HED and lower socio-economic youth and young adults (15-30 years old). This is particularly relevant in Southern European countries going through a socioeconomic crisis, with increasing unemployment rates especially among recently graduated students and decreasing family income. By promoting healthy lifestyles, filling research gaps and implementing innovative and replicable local interventions focusing on prevention of heavy episodic drinking among youth this project will: 1) promote good health among EU youth population; 2) in the long-term, contribute to the sustainability of the health systems and healthy work forces.
To achieve this, this project intends to conduct research at the local level (WP4) that will be later compared in order to understand the local, national and south European similarities of drinking patterns, context and policy. The research results will be crucial for the development of local interventions, and produce the necessary knowledge about HED in Southern Europe, especially among low-income and unemployed young adults. This project expects also to empower and raise awareness about binge HED, especially among low-income groups, both on a local and European level. This will be done through the creation of 3 local consultative forums, the production and dissemination of local, national and European recommendations to inform comprehensive HED policy measures, in line with WHO Global Strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol (WP25. Intervention pilots will also be implemented on a local level, in order to design and experiment adapted and effective approaches to intervene on HED, especially among low income youth and unemployed graduated young adults (WP6).
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Focus on Youth, Football and Alcohol (F.Y.F.A.)
This project will contribute towards efforts to reduce alcohol related harm with special focus on underage drinking and on heavy episodic drinking. It will aim at generating good practices targeting the reduction of heavy episodic drinking among young people and develop guidelines for youth sport clubs regarding alcohol across EU. F.Y.F.A. project will facilitate networking to build EU and national capacities. It will among others:
1) To review policies related to young people, sport, marketing and alcohol with particular focus on football on international, national and local level.
2) To interview relevant stakeholders and decision makers at international, national and local level regarding young people, sport, marketing and alcohol.
3) To identify one local youth football club in six Member States, where young people, aged 13-15 participate in regular sporting activities
4) To interview football club management to find out: attitudes, strategies to reduce drinking and harms for young people
5) To interview 8 young people in six countries to discuss and to make recommendations to policy makers about young people, sport, marketing and alcohol.
6) To make a video in three settings, using ESPAD framework – with 6 young women and 6 young men aged between 13 and 15 from three countries.
7) To amalgate the country videos into one video with sub-titles for different countries which will be produced and disseminated.
8) Strengthening capacity of the stakeholders and partners involved through EU networking and good practice exchange.

Excluding tobacco and caffeine, alcohol is the psychoactive substance used most by young people in the European Union. Underage drinking and heavy episodic drinking of alcohol is of particular concern in Europe because it is related to the health and welfare of the population. A number of studies have linked alcohol use by young people to various problems, both short and long term.
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