THE GAMBLING EDUCATION HUB: INTRODUCING THE NEW TEAM (PART 4 OF 4)

Meet Christina, our new Support Officer within the Gambling Education Hub.

Hi, I am excited to be the final addition to the Gambling Education Hub team!

I joined the team in January. My background is varied, and most recently I was Programme Coordinator for a research group at Edinburgh University called the Just World Institute. I have experience working on projects in academia, public health organisations, and in the private sector – often with a focus on health inequalities and/or fairness and justice issues. I’m already learning a lot from my colleagues who have such a strong background and range of expertise in working with young people.

Young people in the UK are being exposed to gambling advertising in new forms as technologies change. For example, research published by the Gambling Commission in 2018 found that the majority of young people in the UK (60%) have been exposed to gambling advertising via social media. What surprised me is that 12% of young people follow gambling companies themselves on social media. It’s important that every young person growing up in this context has access to information and strategies to help them manage the risks of gambling-related harms.

My role will involve supporting the team’s activities from the Fast Forward head office.

I completed my PhD in Political Theory in Autumn 2018, and I am keen to use some of the research and coordination skills I developed during my academic career to contribute to the Hub’s work. I have already started work on the Hub’s evaluation framework and planning, to ensure that we have robust evidence of what works, and can learn from what hasn’t worked. I will also be working with my colleagues in the Hub to develop guidance for large organisations that work with young people, to help them address gambling and problem gambling effectively on their websites.

In Spring this year we will be launching the Scottish Gambling Education Network: a national practitioners’ network open to any individuals or organisations that work with young people, parents or carers, to share their knowledge and experience of gambling education and prevention in practice. I will be working to establish a regular newsletter for the Network, to update members on the latest evidence, news, and initiatives regarding youth gambling. In the coming weeks, I will also help organise the first of our network meetings. These will be held quarterly, in different locations across Scotland, leading up to the first annual conference of the Network, planned for Spring 2020.

If you would like to be kept informed about the Network or to receive the newsletter when it comes out, just drop Christina an email: christina@fastforward.org.uk