The 2009 National Conference on the Social Norms Approach, held July 13-14th at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, featured programs from both familiar faces and new participants.

Co-sponsored by the BACCHUS Network and the National Social Norms Institute (NSNI), the conference featured over threedozen individual programs on topics ranging from how to build capacity, to evaluation techniques tailored to the social norms approach. A lively luncheon panel discussion, with accompanying question-and-answer session, was held on Tuesday, July 14th.

Featured panelists included Dr. John McCardell, Dr. Linda Hancock, and Dr. H. Wesley Perkins. The discussion focused on how the social norms approach fits within the debate about the minimum-age drinking law. Dr. Alan Berkowitz gave the keynote address, "Reflections on the Social Norms Approach and Its Significance". Keynote speakers also included Dr. William DeJong, who spoke on "Knowing Who We Are: The Future of the Social Norms Approach".

As in previous years, the optional Pre-conference workshop was led by Michael Haines and Dr. H. Wesley Perkins, and continued to be a highlight of the conference. This intensive seminar is designed specifically for those conference attendees who are relatively new to the social norms approach and who wish to gain a solid understanding of the underlying theory and its application to the field of health promotion. The location for the conference was Cambridge, Massachusetts.


See the 2009 Program Schedule here; 2009 Conference Registration and Information Brochure (in PDF format) is archived here, in addition to a slide show of 2009 conference highlights.