Now in its second year, Makers of Tomorrow with Aware.org has become a dynamic youth platform that uses creativity to spark real-world impact. From hard-hitting storylines on South Africa’s biggest soapies to fresh, relevant TikTok content and live school engagements, the programme is designed to meet young people where they are; in culture, in conversation, and in their everyday lives. By blending entertainment with education across multiple channels, Makers of Tomorrow ensures the message doesn’t live in a silo. Whether on social platforms, in communities, or in mainstream media, each element from broadcast to digital to face-to-face, plays its role in reinforcing the central purpose: empowering the next generation to make smarter, healthier decisions while giving parents and educators meaningful tools to open dialogue around alcohol responsibility.
Within the Makers of Tomorrow ecosystem, Zombie Party on Roblox is a standout innovation. Designed and built by our incredible partner Sea Monster, the game drops players into a chaotic house party that’s spiralled into a full-blown outbreak, but not the kind you’d expect. Instead of the usual brain-hungry undead, the “zombies” are friends who partied too hard, stumbling, slurring, and turning into cringe dancers and emotional wrecks. To survive, players must search for hidden clues, dodge infected partygoers, and resist temptations like “drinking the punch” to make it out with their dignity intact. The brilliance of the game is how it blends fun with subtle lessons: every obstacle becomes a metaphor for peer pressure and risky choices. It’s engaging, fast-paced and funny on the surface, but it also delivers a clear underlying message, that smart decisions in high-pressure moments can change outcomes in real life.
To amplify engagement, we used cinema, digital media and digital out-of-home to encourage people to find the game, play the game and join the conversation. Over a 6-week period, the game recorded 55,572 total play sessions and 5,154 hours of total playtime (5.7 minutes per user), extending the reach of Makers of Tomorrow far beyond traditional platforms. It’s another example of how combining creativity with the platforms youth naturally gravitate to creates truly effective content.