Iceland's recipe for teen success

Here's a fascinating glimpse into social engineering in one country. Twenty years ago, Iceland had a huge problem with underage drinking, smoking and drug-taking. Over the last 20 years, though, the country (and, in particular, its capital Reykjavik, where the vast majority of the country's population lives) has completely turned the situation around, and changed from Europe's worst to Europe's best. In 1998, 42% of 15-16 years old routinely got drunk; now that percentage is 5%.

So, how did they achieve this? Well, it's a pretty draconian recipe, but you have to admit it has been effective:

• Firstly, they brought in a curfew whereby all children under 16 must be indoors by 10pm, a curfew that is often policed by voluntary groups of parents ranging the streets after dark.
• Parents sign a pledge to control their children's drinking and to increase family time, and groups of parents get together to agree rules for their children's behaviour.
• School children get a $500 voucher each year for after-school activities, particularly sports (one politician credited the program for Iceland's surprising soccer success as well as their international success in pop music).
• All teens have to fill in a detailed Youth In Iceland survey every year, which covers aspects like their relations with their family, their feelings, and their habits, the results of which are reported back to the local communities and schools so that they can see what needs to be addressed. This evidence-based approach is seen as key to the program's success.
• They got their politicians actively involved in the process, and took measures to fund the program effectively (for example, Reykjavik spends over $100 million a year on youth activities).

One parent joked, "we are a boring country", but you can see that the Icelandic people are actually pretty proud of what they have achieved. Now, 35 other cities across Europe are adopting programs based on the Icelandic experience to address their own teen problems. All in all quite impressive, although I really can't see it working in a city the size of Toronto.