Lee Kane, NIABF's Regional Anti-Bullying Coordinator, recently met with students and staff from Belfast Met who participated in Anti-Bullying Week 2012.  Coordinated by Gerry Skelton (Belfast Met Lecturer and event Coordinator), Lee met with Health and Social Care Year 1 group that helped plan, prepare and deliver the College Anti-Bullying Initiative in November 2012.

The event was a tremendous success, helped by the attendance of a local MLA (Judith Cochrane) and College teaching and middle to senior managerial staff and students; which made a small but important contribution to Anti-Bully Week.
Speaking at the event, Lee praised the students for their obvious enthusiasm and commitment to anti-bullying within the college but also in their daily lives. He was very impressed by some of the student accounts of how they have subsequently felt empowered to challenge bullying and to take forward their message: 'Say NO to bullying', which featured on the t-shirts made for the event.















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Gerry and Chloe (Student Rep) expressed their appreciation for Lee’s support in coming to meet the group and the event was concluded by Gerry who stated: “It is important that a strong anti-bullying message goes out to all, not just students but wider society. We all must make a conscious and determined effort to challenge bullying in its myriad forms, and ensure we are safe people for victims to turn to and find much needed support."

The NIABF office will be closed from Friday 14 December until Monday 7 January. 

Remember, you can still contact the following organisations for support over the festive period:

ChildLine - 0800 11 11      www.childline.org.uk

Parents Helpline - 0808 8010 722      www.parentingni.org

LifeLine - 0808 808 8000     www.contactni.com

 ANTI-BULLYING WEEK TO CHALLENGE
 BULLYING BASED ON DIFFERENCE

Over 650 schools and youth groups across Northern Ireland will explore bullying based on difference and prejudice during this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, which runs from Monday 19th to Friday 23rd November.

Under the banner "Everybody is Somebody" this theme may relate to homophobic, disablist, sectarian or racist bullying.  Ultimately, if a person is perceived as being different to their peers, this can on occasion lead to an individual experiencing bullying.

Anti-Bullying Week is co-ordinated by the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum (NIABF) and supported by Translink.  NIABF is an interagency group hosted by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) NI and funded by the Department of Education.
 
Lee Kane, NIABF’s Regional Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator, explains the opportunity that Anti-Bullying Week provides for teachers, youth workers and parents to talk to young people about respecting difference and to challenge bullying:

“The interest from schools, youth groups and parents in this year’s Anti-Bullying Week shows how important the issue of bullying is in our society and reaffirms our commitment to educate young people about diversity. By challenging negative stereotypes and reinforcing anti-bullying messages we can all emphasise that such behaviour is unacceptable. Children and young people’s participation is critical to implementing effective anti-bullying strategies.”

“Poster displays, themed assemblies presentations, lesson activities and whole school exercises are some of the activities taking place to engage pupils in understanding their role and responsibility in tackling bullying.”

Discussing this year’s theme Lee adds: “Research shows that young people think the children who are seen as being different are more likely to experience bullying in our schools and in our communities. It might be motivated by their gender; their real or perceived sexual orientation; if they have a disability; the colour of their skin; where they come from; their religion; what they look like; if they’re particularly good at sport, or not etc. No matter how it happens, or why it happens, all bullying is wrong, and we have a duty to challenge it.”

The Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum recently ran an “Everybody is Somebody” creative competition to further engage pupils and asked them to submit art or creative writing entries using this theme. The competition attracted an overwhelming response, with over 1200 young people from across Northern Ireland taking part.  The prize winners will attend a special prize giving ceremony on Tuesday 20 November at Titanic Belfast.

This year’s Anti-Bullying Week is once again supported by Translink.  Anti-bullying messages will be disseminated to the public through poster displays at train and bus stations across Northern Ireland. Translink’s Ursula Kelleher, explains:

“There has been an overwhelming response from schools and youth groups to this year’s Anti-Bullying Week ensuring that thousands of young people are informed about the serious issue of bullying and how to tackle it effectively.

“By embracing diversity and respecting people’s differences, we are helping to build a happier, more rewarding school experience and providing young people with important life skills,” said Ursula.