The Watcher’s Club: educating a new generation of responsible consumers
At a time when online shopping, social media, and digital platforms have become central to consumer’s daily lives, counterfeiting networks are also evolving at an unprecedented pace. Today, a counterfeit product can be purchased in just a few seconds from a mobile phone, sometimes without the buyer even fully realizing the risks involved.
Faced with this reality, ACTA-GM chose to take a different approach. Convinced that the fight against counterfeiting can no longer rely solely on inspections, seizures, or judicial procedures, the association developed The Watcher’s Club, an educational and civic programme designed to raise awareness among younger generations, families, and the wider public about intellectual property, responsible consumption, and the dangers associated with illicit trade.
More than a simple awareness initiative, The Watcher’s Club was conceived as a genuine field-based educational approach built around a clear objective: making intellectual property issues accessible, understandable, and relevant to everyone.
A Global Phenomenon Becoming a Societal Challenge:
The programme was developed in response to an alarming reality. According to the latest joint studies conducted by the OECD and the EUIPO, global trade in counterfeit goods amounted to nearly USD 467 billion in 2021, representing approximately 2.3% of world trade.
These already significant figures are likely underestimated, as they do not include counterfeit products manufactured and consumed locally, nor a substantial share of pirated digital content distributed online.
Changing consumption habits are of particular concern to international institutions. Several EUIPO studies show that young consumers are now highly exposed to counterfeit products through digital platforms and social media. A European study notably revealed that 52% of young people aged 15 to 24 reported having purchased at least one counterfeit product, either knowingly or unknowingly, during the previous twelve months.
Even more concerning, nearly one in two young consumers considers it acceptable to purchase a counterfeit product when the price of the authentic item is perceived as too high.
These figures illustrate a major awareness challenge. For ACTA-GM, it became essential to develop tools capable of speaking directly to younger generations using language and formats adapted to their realities and daily habits.
Raising Awareness Differently: A Modern and Accessible Educational Approach:
It is within this context that The Watcher’s Club was created.
The programme is built around a simple idea: transforming awareness into an interactive and participatory experience. Rather than relying on a traditional institutional approach, ACTA-GM chose to develop modern educational tools allowing counterfeiting-related issues to be addressed in a concrete, human, and accessible way.
Today, the programme combines:
- interactive workshops in schools;
- awareness activities during sports and public events;
- educational comic books;
- audiovisual content and animations;
- immersive and participatory learning tools;
- consumer awareness campaigns.
The objective is to help the public understand that counterfeiting does not only concern luxury goods or major brands. Fake cosmetics, medicines, electronic devices, clothing, toys, automotive parts, and digital content now affect virtually every aspect of everyday life.
Through The Watcher’s Club, ACTA-GM also seeks to foster a genuine culture of vigilance among younger audiences, based on critical thinking and a clear understanding of the real impacts of illicit trade.
Concrete Actions on the Ground:
Since its launch, the programme has been implemented through several field initiatives in different environments to reach a wide range of audiences.
In Tunisia, activities carried out at Ecole Gustave Eiffel enabled students from different educational levels to participate in age-appropriate workshops. Students took part in product analysis exercises, learned how to identify signs of counterfeit goods, and discovered the health, economic, and environmental consequences of illicit trade.
Feedback collected following the sessions demonstrated the particularly positive impact of this educational approach. According to evaluations conducted by the school’s teachers, 100% of surveyed teachers stated that students clearly understood what counterfeiting is and the issues associated with it.
The programme was also introduced to the wider public during a major awareness initiative organized at La Poste du Louvre, in partnership with La Poste. This initiative made it possible to engage directly with consumers in an iconic location welcoming thousands of visitors every day.
The results obtained during this operation highlight the importance of proximity-based awareness actions. According to the satisfaction survey conducted during the event, 82.9% of respondents considered the messages presented to be “very clear,” while 85% of visitors stated that they intended to modify their purchasing habits after participating in the initiative.
The programme was also deployed during the French Senior Karate Championship in Chambly, helping raise awareness among athletes, families, coaches, and the wider public about the risks associated with counterfeit sports equipment and purchases made through unofficial platforms.
A New Way of Talking About Intellectual Property:
One of the key strengths of The Watcher’s Club lies in its ability to make topics that are often perceived as technical or reserved for professionals accessible to everyone.
Through comic books, interactive workshops, and audiovisual content developed by ACTA-GM, intellectual property becomes a subject rooted in everyday life. Participants progressively understand that behind every authentic product there are creators, companies, jobs, innovation, and sometimes even public health and safety considerations.
The programme also reminds participants that counterfeiting does not only represent an economic loss. It can also finance criminal networks, encourage non-compliant production, and expose consumers directly to serious risks.
In a context where impulsive purchases through social media continue to increase, developing this culture of vigilance has become essential.
A Growing Momentum:
Following the success of its first field initiatives, ACTA-GM is continuing to expand The Watcher’s Club through new educational projects and awareness campaigns across Africa, the Greater Maghreb, and Europe.
New audiovisual episodes, educational workshops, public events, and interactive tools are currently being developed to continue raising awareness among younger generations as well as the wider public about intellectual property and illicit trade issues.
Through this programme, ACTA-GM reaffirms a strong conviction: the fight against counterfeiting cannot be sustainably effective without large-scale efforts in education, prevention, and awareness.
Because today, protecting innovation and combating illicit trade also means educating consumers to become more informed, more responsible, and more vigilant.
ACTA-GM warmly thanks all partners, institutions, schools, sports organizations, speakers, and participants who contribute to the development of The Watcher’s Club programme and to the success of these awareness initiatives in the field.
