Indigenous

Strong Community Life campaign

Strong Community Life is a grassroots community education campaign that recognises the significance of oral culture to engage with people living in remote Indigenous communities. The campaign was initiated by the former Liquor Licensing Division, and has been continued by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing to address alcohol related issues in remote Indigenous communities by promoting positive community initiatives and provoking discussion about alcohol.

Historically, our involvement in Indigenous communities has been to declare and implement liquor restrictions under the Liquor Act 1992, and to enforce restrictions on licensed premises operating in the communities. However, in 2006 we recognised that for restrictions and conditions on licensed premises in and around Indigenous communities to be effective, patrons must be educated about healthy alcohol consumption behaviour.

In response, the former Liquor Licensing Division initiated a strategy to promote safer drinking in 18 Meeting Challenges, Making Choices communities.

Background to the campaign

The Strong Community Life campaign reflects community wishes and aims to:

reinforce positive drinking behaviours and encourage residents to make healthier lifestyle choices
educate residents, particularly the younger generation, about the potential health and social dangers of excessive drinking and binge drinking
educate residents on ways to reduce and manage their alcohol consumption so that it does not disrupt their family, work and social life
be more interactive and localised, using local faces, voices, skills and resources
include prominent Indigenous sports stars and heroes.

What does the campaign include?

Community research found traditional communication methods of posters and brochures were ineffective and to communicate effectively with these remote communities, the campaign had to involve residents at each phase.

The campaign includes a series of locally produced radio programs that provide each community with the opportunity to talk about alcohol issues in personal and creative ways, such as via a talking circle, music and poems. It also provides strong and positive messages from community leaders, service providers, young people and Indigenous heroes.

The radio program is complemented by a billboard featuring positive images of residents in each community and a local community event, including participation by Queensland Government Champions and Indigenous sports stars.

Each community also hosts an official launch for the campaign funded by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing. Many of the launches are linked to visits by Queensland Government Champions as well as other significant celebrations within communities.

Radio program

The Strong Community Life radio program provides strong and positive messages from people in the community, leaders and Indigenous sports stars and heroes.

The program is produced locally using community-based Regional Indigenous Broadcast Service (RIBS) operators and broadcast by 4K1G.

The first series of radio programs ran in 2007 and focused on young people in the community. In 2009 the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing plan to launch the second series of radio programs which will focus on adults in the communities.

Below are some of the songs from the youth radio show series:

Bwgcolman Community School song (MP3 3.67mb)

Kowanyama song for the radio show (MP3 2.49mb)

Palm Island is my home (MP3 3.24mb)

Consultation

Strong Community Life has been designed to include local people in the research and development, the imagery, the radio shows and the evaluation of the program. The Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing also works in consultation with Indigenous Councils, Community Justice Groups and local sport and recreation teams to coordinate the radio programs and visitation campaign.

Other Queensland Government agencies have also participated in the development of this campaign, including Queensland Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (Department of Communities).

This consultation will continue under a cross-agency steering committee to progress a number of different projects being developed by these agencies.

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Last reviewed 7 January 2009