Eton student launches campaign to make alcohol-free social spaces visible

An Eton College student is heading up a movement to reduce alcohol-related social pressure and make alcohol-free options more accessible and visible.

Ruzgar Takmak founded his youth-led movement Generation 0.0 during the summer to ‘combat the traditional views around drinking alcohol’.

“Drinking culture is quite prominent in the UK,” he told the Express.

“I'm trying to make it so that the youths and sober curious people, or even older people who don’t drink for health reasons, no longer need to feel the pressure.”

This involves mapping venues that serve non-alcoholic alternatives and placing a branded sticker on the window.

“Eventually, everyone can go out and see our sticker on restaurant windows and know that it's a restaurant that has non-alcoholic alternatives in there,” said Ruzgar.

The 17-year-old is a music scholar and student athlete, who is ‘super health conscious’ and wants to change the perception that not drinking or smoking renders you a ‘social outcast’.

“We’re trying to create this community and movement towards non-alcoholism,” he said.

The work is guided by an AAA framework on awareness, availability and acknowledgement – by accrediting venues that offer high-quality alcohol-free alternatives. Staff briefing posters are issued to encourage staff to present customers with all available drink options rather than segregating non-alcoholic options.

Originally from Ascot, Ruzgar has certified 15 venues, including every establishment in Eton and several across Windsor that serve non-alcoholic options.

“There has been extremely positive feedback from those people who have heard about it, and we're hoping to keep this trajectory going because we really believe it’s a cause many people can relate to,” he said.

“We put our recognisable sticker on the window, and we put the name onto our map, and you’ll immediately know it has non-alcoholic alternatives inside.

“Most people really like the idea, and there hasn’t been any negativity around it.”

The name Generation 0.0 is inspired by Ruzgar’s ambition for Gen Z and Gen Alpha to be ‘the generations of zero alcohol’.

“As it stands, there is a cultural shift towards this,” he added, citing a study that found alcohol drinkers in America to have reached one of the lowest rates in modern recorded history.

“In my opinion, that really is a huge cultural shift towards non-alcoholic alternatives on the market,” said Ruzgar.

“People are coming to their senses, and people are realising that this is an available option.

“The dream is every single bar in the UK or even internationally, every supermarket or every restaurant has our sticker on it and that every single venue is on our map.

“Whether due to religious reasons or you don’t drink for health reasons, you’d be able to find a spot where you are appreciated and have alternatives available.”

Ruzgar hopes that Generation 0.0 becomes the ‘face of the movement’ for non-alcoholic drink implementation.

After gaining traction during the successful first few months, the Year 12 boarding school student now needs the ‘horsepower’ and time to meet pub owners alongside his studies.

Generation 0.0 has a team of 25 ‘like-minded’ 16 to 17-year-olds acting as ambassadors and spreading awareness about the initiative.

They have also secured £25,000 in initial fundraising from an angel investor to go towards creating an app.

For more information, visit www.generation00.com