June 13, 2023, Shanghai, China – China’s rapid socio-economic development and the significant increase in resident income have led to surging demand for road travel. This growing need has emphasized the critical importance of safer roads and responsible road users, prompting more pressing efforts to enhance public awareness and provide relevant public education on the topic of road safety. 

On June 13, the inaugural “Autosobriety Creative Challenge ”, hosted in collaboration with the China Communication Television Broadcasting Network, UNITAR’s affiliated training centres CIFAL Shanghai and CIFAL Hubei, and Pernod Ricard China successfully wrapped up. The challenge took place as part of the global implementation of the Autosobriety Training Programme already launched in six countries across different continents.

The challenge drew student participants from 126 universities and colleges across China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Tongji University, and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute who were proposed to ideate on a creative way to convey the “No Drink Driving” message and create an educational tool consisting of a poster, video, and deck of slides. After rounds of screening, out of 170 creative proposals, 12 teams were shortlisted for the final. 

The final evaluation was presided over by a jury composed of representatives of UNITAR, the Publicity Office of the Shanghai Traffic Police Department, Pernod Ricard, China Communication Television Broadcasting Network, and the Communication University of China. They evaluated the shortlisted proposals based on scientificity, creativeness, applicability, legal compliance and insight. Eventually, three workpieces, among which “Alcohol and Responsibility”, “The Effects of Alcohol on Eyesight”, and “How Does Ethanol Affect You?”  were named the top-three winners, while “Get Home Safely” and “Alcohol and Responsibility” were rewarded with the Best Poster Design Award and the Best Video Creation Award respectively for their unique creative ideas. The winning teams also received certificates issued by the organizing committee, as well as cash rewards and interview opportunities for internships in the institutions organizing the Challenge.

In China, university students account for most driving school students, and many of them have just obtained their driving licenses. Organizers of the challenge were keen to fully tap the potential of those students by enabling them to become Autosobriety ambassadors, helping them improve their road safety literacy on issues such as “No Drink Driving” and explore creative solutions that help spread the message of No Drink Driving. With that aim in mind, the inaugural Autosobriety Challenge encouraged participants to become acquainted with the relevant knowledge before participation, directly empowering about 800 university and college students through an online assessment and offline training. After mastering the knowledge, participants then developed their training kits for creative education based on three topics: how alcohol affects the human body and driving performance, the legal consequences of drinking and driving in China, and strategies to prevent Drink Driving.