Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence program in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia

20 September 2023, Dubrovnik, Croatia: In partnership with Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), UNODC in cooperation with the Education and Teacher Training Agency of Croatia and Institute for Public Health of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, organized a conference on the Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence (LQSFA) program for the primary school directors. The conference was organized in-person for the directors from the county, and online streaming was organized for all other directors in Croatia.

The LQSFA programme is an effective evidence-based prevention programme for young people aimed to help them develop various social emotional skills, take responsibility, communicate effectively, make healthy decisions and resist substance abuse.

During the conference, the UNODC Global coordinator for the prevention programs delivered a presentation on the value of family and life and social skills as per the UNODC-WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention in the educational sector and emphasized the importance of socio-emotional learning and early prevention.

The LCIF representative explained that LQSFA programme is an evidence-based youth intervention based on the methodological approach of developing social and emotional competences with students as a foundation to establish relevant practices that prevent and delay the onset of drug use.

The UNODC Regional Coordinator of LQSFA for the South-Eastern Europe informed the audience about the implementation of LQSFA in the region and in the Republic of Croatia.

Since the beginning of the cooperation between UNODC and the Teachers training and Education Agency in 2019, 12 national trainers have been trained, and until now more than 6,500 students were involved in the LQSFA program. Encouraged by the positive results of the program, the Institute for Public Health of Dubrovnik-Neretva County introduced the program in all elementary schools in 2022.