Handbook on Youth Participation in Drug Prevention Work

The goal of the present handbook is to offer encouragement, examples, rationales and concrete advice on how to increase youth participation in substance use prevention, harnessing the insights of young people on the most important target group in prevention efforts: their peers. It is designed to enable all decision makers to capitalise on the power of youth participation, exploring the full potential of young people as a force for change. The guidance is aimed at leaders in charge of substance use prevention and health promotion efforts at the local, regional, national and international levels.

The handbook provides an overview of youth participation and what role it might play in prevention. It seeks to convey the value of evidence-based prevention in building healthy and prosperous communities and societies, and the value of young people as important contributors to prevention efforts. By so doing, it seeks to contribute to the normalisation of youth participation in prevention.