Underage Drinking Summit 2008 - Recommended Agenda Items

Note: You may decide a different order or different timing for these items, or decide that a combination of only some of the items with others that you design would work best at your summit. This is simply provided as a tool to assist you in your planning, not a required agenda template.

•	Welcome Video (5 minutes)
•	Youth and state agency leaders provide Maine underage drinking statistics.
•	Governor and Mrs. Baldacci welcome participants and introduce/set-up the issue.

•	Local Welcome (5 minutes)

•	“This Place” video (16 minutes) [If this was not shown yet in your community]
•	This is a wonderful video that frames the issue of underage drinking, demonstrates the role communities’ play in perpetuating and preventing the problem and empowers participants to become a part of the solution.

•	Keynote speakers (30-45 minutes)
•	Statewide/national perspective: This could be Attorney General Steve Rowe, First Lady Karen Baldacci, Guy Cousins (Interim Director of OSA), Ann Jordan (Commissioner of Public Safety) or other state representative.
•	Local perspective: Someone from your local area or coalition can share  highlights of the following:
•	local MYDAUS data
•	local risk and protective factor profile
•	current underage drinking prevention efforts in your community
•	how to get involved

•	Video (approx. 8 minutes)
•	This video will be a discussion between Attorney General Steve Rowe and members of Maine’s Youth Empowerment and Policy Project (YEPP) about research the group conducted on alcohol advertising and its appeal to young people and the enforcement of underage drinking laws. 

•	Myths (and misconceptions) about Underage Drinking (10 minutes minimum)
WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO INCLUDE THIS PIECE SOMEPLACE IN YOUR AGENDA IF YOU DID NOT HAVE A TOWN HALL ON THIS TOPIC IN 2006.
•	“Debunking” common myths is a key to effectively addressing the underage drinking issue.
•	We will provide power point slides to frame some of the most common myths about underage drinking and a discussion guide with talking points and relevant data to “debunk” the myths.
•	A person from the Office of Substance Abuse or another state government representative may be available to present this piece if you wish.  Or if you have more time, you might consider a panel approach, dividing the list of myths between local community members representing different perspectives. For example, a young person may want to present and de-bunk the myth that “everyone does it”, a parent might want to present the myth that “it is better to teach kids responsible drinking”, a law enforcement officer may want to present “you’re never going to be able to stop kids from drinking”, etc. 

•	Surgeon General’s Call to Action - COUNT ME IN - (10 minutes minimum)
WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO INCLUDE THIS PIECE SOMEPLACE IN YOUR AGENDA
•	   This call to action is the central theme of this year’s town hall meetings.
•	   The Community Guide provides the tools and you need to take action against underage drinking. This guide explains why underage drinking is a major public health and safety issue. It asks everyone to take action. 
•	   A person from the Office of Substance Abuse or another state government representative may be available to present this piece if you wish.  

•	Discussion or Breakouts (30 minutes)
•	This is a time where you can answer questions or allow for discussion on the presentations.
•	Some groups may want to have participants break out into small groups to plan solutions or action steps. This is up to each individual planning group and should be based on whether you feel participants will have enough information to have a meaningful solution – based conversation on the topic.  
•	We will provide a discussion guide that might assist you in designing this component if you decide to include it.

•	Closing Challenge/Call to Action (5 minutes)
•	This can be done by one of your guest speakers, a local young person, etc. We will be providing sample talking points based on the material provided by the Surgeon General.
•	The video we are providing will also include a video version of the closing challenge, delivered by a young person, that you can use if you prefer that to having someone deliver it live.
•	You want your participants to leave feeling that they have a role to play in solving the underage drinking problem. The closing is a challenge for them to stay involved and to do something!

Materials You Can Expect To Receive From Us by late-February

•	Video (VHS or DVD) with the following components:
o	Welcome with underage drinking statistics
•	Including a one-page fact sheet containing all of the statistics given in the video for participants to take home with them.
o	Conversation between the Attorney General and YEP members
o	Closing challenge
•	“This Place” (call the OSA IRC at 1-800-499-0027 or email osa.ircosa@maine.gov to reserve a copy (VHS or DVD) for your event – copies are limited, so we recommend you make your reservation as soon as possible so that we have time to get more copies if needed to ensure there is one available for all summits that wish to include this video)

•	Myths of Underage Drinking
o	Power Point Presentation
o	Discussion guide
o	One-page fact sheet for participants to take home with them

•	Surgeon General’s Call to Action - COUNT ME IN 
o	Copies of Call to Action for organizers
o	Copies of Community Guide pamphlets
o	Discussion guide
o	One-page fact sheet for participants to take home with them

•	Other information:
o	A one-page handout “What can I do to prevent underage drinking”
o	Answers to tough questions you may get during the meeting
o	Discussion guide/suggestions for group discussion/breakout groups
o	Sample press release and media advisory
o	Suggestions for working with the media
o	Suggestions for community outreach