The Club Health Project

Nightlife plays a major role in modern life, being a critical aspect of youth recreation and a major source of employment, economic development and tourism for towns and cities. However, nightlife activities also create a wide range of health and social problems including alcohol and drug use, anti-social behaviour and crime. The development of safe nightlife environments is a growing priority throughout Europe, where town and city authorities must manage not only the recreational habits of their own youth, but also those from other countries as international tourism increases. Effectively managing nightlife settings is critical both in protecting the health of young people and reducing the burdens that night time anti-social behaviour can place on public services and society.

The "Club Health - Healthy and Safer Nightlife of Youth" project, with 20 associated and 15 collaborating partners from 15 EU Member States and Norway, supports the European Commission in its public health and other related strategies to reduce the social costs and harm associated with nightlife youth risk behaviours. The project aims to reduce diseases (especially addictions and sexually transmitted infections), accidents, injuries and violence among youth with a focus on specific environments of nightlife. The project aims to facilitate more consistent implementation of strategies and laws in the field of youth risk behaviour on the one hand, and increase sensitivity of media, advertising industry and politically relevant actors (e.g. policy and decision makers) on their responsibility for action on the other hand. The project builds on the work of the previous EC co-financed project "Recreational Culture as a Tool to Prevent Risk Behaviours", and complements other EC co-financed projects in the field of youth risk behaviour. The Club Health project is a three year €1.2 million project co-financed by the European Commission under the Health Programme.