How can we combat doping in sport? By sharing clear and direct messages, conceived by young people and addressed to other young people. This is the purpose of the new #DopOut video that was presented to Italian school students on Wednesday 6 June in Rome at the Sport School of Coni (Italian Olympic Committee).

"#DopOut – Social network and peer education against doping” is the Erasmus+ project co-funded by the European Union and coordinated by ISCA member Uisp, along with Coni Servizi, involving seven European partners, including ISCA, in a communication campaign to make youngsters aware of the risks related to the use of doping and the abuse of drugs. The young people are directly involved in the project too, by creating and conveying positive messages about healthy lifestyles and nutrition.

The campaign uses “peer education”, a methodology in which youngsters have to create the communication and influence their peers. The project first selected storyboards presented by several European high schools. The proposal of ISS Istituto Statale Superiore “Mario Rutelli” of Palermo has been chosen to represent the project and, thanks to the participation of Visualside – Media Communication Studio of Rovereto (TN), the 40-second video has been created. The short video clip will be shared on social networks and simultaneously launched by seven European partners of the project, from Austria to Greece, from Denmark to Romania, from Slovenia to Turkey, with the hashtag #DopOut.

The main character of the video is a young athlete engaged in a running race. During the competition, when he stands in front of the Olympic flame (fair play icon), he realises that by using doping he has betrayed the spectators, his fans and the other competitors, so he throws away the doping into the Olympic flame. The video, although short, is rich in symbolic references concerning the sporting environment and values.

See the new video here

Story adapted from the official press release from Uisp