FIA Member Club the Automobile Association of Vietnam celebrates one year of the ‘Power of No’ campaign aiming to spread awareness, tips, and legal guidance about drink-driving to young people aged 18-30 in Southeast Asia. Over 39 million youths have been reached by this innovative digital campaign led by a unique multi-sector alliance of 28 community organisations, businesses, associations, and governments.

According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death of people aged 5-29. In Southeast Asia, road crashes claim the lives of 2,000 people each day and up to 35% of all road deaths are reported as alcohol-related. Young adults are the most at risk for drink-driving — 6 times more likely to drink and drive than the general population.  

Launched in February 2022 to take action, the ‘Power of No’ public awareness campaign is led by the Automobile Association of Vietnam (AA Vietnam), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wines Alliance (APISWA), and creative agency Orès. It brings together over 20 international partners representing government, NGO, private, and community organisations including FIA Member Clubs. The campaign aims to empower young adults aged 18-30 in six Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam and promote a change in behaviour when it comes to drinking and driving.

For the past year, the campaign has spread awareness to 39 million young people through video clips, eye-catching infographics, a commercial video, and important facts to be better educated on drink-driving. 

In September 2022, the campaign launched an international photo contest with the theme “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk”. The contest encouraged groups of friends to work together to stop drink-driving, and made contestants think critically about how they will act the next time they see a drunk friend reach for their keys. It reached over 7 million young people with over 450,000 likes, comments, and shares during two months across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and PartiPost. By participating, young people learned how alcohol works in the body, understood legal obligations, and utilised useful tips to avoid drink-driving.

The ‘Power of No’ campaign is unique amongst drink-driving campaigns because of its large coalition of international, regional, and local partners. FIA Region II President Greig Craft, who is also the President of AA Vietnam, declared "It is rare for organisations from so many different sectors and backgrounds to unite, but we are all deeply motivated by our shared cause: to keep youths safe on the road. This generation of young adults has enormous potential to shape their community and prevent road crashes. We are proud to participate in this campaign to inspire change within local communities across Asia Pacific.”

In 2023, the ‘Power of No’ campaign is expected to expand to other Asia Pacific countries to encourage responsible drinking and lasting behaviour change in young people.

To learn more about the ‘Power of No’, visit the campaign’s Facebook page or website.