The following two tactics are suggested as major activities that communities can use to support local Too Smart To Start initiatives. These activities were chosen as core tactics because they include the participation of youth in developing messages and materials designed to raise awareness about the dangers of underage alcohol use.

Tactic 1: Mosaic Messages

Like mosaic artwork, Too Smart To Start Mosaic Messages consist of many smaller pieces—in this case authentic voices of 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents/caregivers, representing various ages, races, and ethnicities—combined to form a single, larger message. To create mosaic messages, communities would interview and record 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents/caregivers talking about underage alcohol use, the harms it causes, the positive aspects of youth not using alcohol, and the value of better communication between parents/caregivers and their 9- to 13-year-old children. These interviews would be divided into individual statements, which would then be combined into a collection of different voices discussing different aspects of underage alcohol use and prevention. Each mosaic message will end with a call to action to the speakers’ peers.

These messages can be used as public service announcements in mass and alternative media channels popular with 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents/caregivers. Although this core tactic features audio messages, mosaic messages need not be limited to sound. They can also be developed using video, print, or multimedia formats and distributed to print, broadcast, or other media outlets. The Too Smart To Start Radio PSA created for parents (play the CD in the Too Smart To Start Community Action Kit to hear the recording and see the Too Smart To Start Implementation Guide for the script) is a sample of an audio mosaic message.

Mosaic Messages are designed to support the Too Smart To Start objectives to:

1. Increase the number of conversations that parents/caregivers and their 9- to 13-year-old children have about the harms of underage alcohol use, and
2. Increase the percentage of 9- to 13-year-olds and parents/caregivers who see underage alcohol use as harmful.

Tactic 2: Community Documentaries

Community Documentaries will be films that show, from the perspectives of 9- to 13-year-old youth, their community’s beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and activities pertaining to underage alcohol use. The documentaries could feature interviews with 9- to 13-year-old peers of the filmmakers, parents, community leaders, and other influential adults. To receive an authentic youth perspective, let the youth decide how to approach the project. To make the documentaries, organizations participating in Too Smart To Start should provide training in media literacy and basic cinematography to 9- to 13-year-old filmmakers. The organization should also provide the youth with video equipment and pair them with teen or college film students/cinematographers, who will guide them through the filming and production processes. (Consider partnering with colleges, high schools, or other organizations that teach cinematography. In addition, consider recruiting sponsors who can provide financial support or donate the equipment and materials needed to produce the documentaries.)

Some of the many uses for a community documentary are to: raise awareness about the issue of underage alcohol use as it relates to 9- to 13-year-olds, promote the work being done by a local initiative, and generate dialogue at a community forum.

This tactic supports all three of the Too Smart To Start objectives. It will also provide youth with a platform from which to speak to parents/caregivers and other adults, provide adults with an opportunity to listen to 9- to 13-year-olds, and to get a snapshot of the underage alcohol use issues in their community.