Anti-Bullying Week 2012 - Afterword

Last week, during Bullying Awareness week, we posted a number of items and articles on the subject.

We do hope that this was of interest to you.  Many fly fishers know of young people who have experienced bullying.  Or they may have been targets themselves when they were younger.

If you have any thoughts or comments on anything we published, please don't be shy - post a comment or drop me a note at michelle@bowrivershuttles.com.

Thanks for reading this.  

Bullying Awareness Week.org

Calgary students win anti-bullying award

Junior high students made a video about a girl who overcomes her bullies

CBC News - Posted: Nov 14, 2012

A group of girls from a junior high school in Calgary have created an award-winning video to help spread the anti-bullying message.

Six Grade 8 students at the French immersion school Ecole Madeleine D'houet won a provincewide competition hosted by The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities.

The girls said the video started out as a fun project.

“We thought it'd be really cool to try and do it ourselves,” said Eliza Vass.

The video tells the story of a girl who overcomes her bullies with the help of another classmate.

“The bystander is the biggest difference because the bully starts it, but the bystander is the one that can end it,” said Mia Daragicevic, who came up with the concept.

Twitter, Facebook and other social media has taken bullying to another level, said Isabel McRitchie.

“In our day now, cyberbullying is becoming a huge issue and so we need to be able to know how to stand up to [it].”

The girls travel to Edmonton Wednesday to accept their award. This week marks national Bullying Awareness Week.

Facebook launches Canada-wide anti-bullying campaign

Flowers and candles are seen as people gather at a memorial honoring teen Amanda Todd in Maple Ridge;B.C.;Monday;Oct. 15;2012. Todd who was a victim of bullying took her own life last Wednesday.

Photo Credit: The Canadian Press , Postmedia News

Facebook launches Canada-wide anti-bullying campaign

A staggering 88 per cent of Canadians say they’re worried about youth bullying, according to results of a recent poll

Irene Ogrodnik, Global News : Wednesday, November 14, 2012

TORONTO – Facebook has officially launched a new national awareness campaign for bullying prevention in Canada.

The “Be Bold, Stop Bullying Canada” was launched during national Bullying Awareness Week. It features an interactive app where adults and children alike pledge to stand against bullying and can share their status to encourage friends and family to do the same.

The page will also act as a resource centre and encourages people to share their stories.

“Our goal is to raise awareness of the simple, yet powerful actions that parents, kids, and educators can take to prevent bullying,” said organizers on the campaign’s Facebook page. “We hope to inspire millions of bystanders to take action by speaking up when they see bullying and to grow a community committed to ending bullying.”

Read it on Global News: Global Edmonton | Facebook launches Canada-wide anti-bullying campaign

Kielburgers: Make a pledge to take a stand against bullying

Marc and Craig Kielburger

Photograph by: Handout, Vancouver Sun

Kielburgers: Make a pledge to take a stand against bullying

By Craig & Marc Kielburger, Calgary Herald November 12, 2012

High up on a mountain, the snowpack builds. Day by day, the crushing weight grows until one tiny catalyst - a sound, a breath of wind - tips the scales and the entire mountainside is transformed.

It's a good metaphor for what we've just witnessed.

In British Columbia, a teen girl is haunted and taunted online. The pressure builds, until one day, she makes an impassioned video sharing her story on hand-drawn sheets of paper, a silent cry for help. The pressure of harassment builds until she can no longer bear it and takes her own life.

Across Canada, young people experience fear and humiliation in their schoolyards and chat rooms. In the wake of the teenager's death, thousands of young people rise up and cry, "Enough!"

You may think we're being melodramatic, but we're not. The avalanche against bullying is roaring down the mountain.

Every year, through We Day events, we connect with more than 100,000 young Canadians. Obviously, we don't speak personally with each and every one, but we meet with hundreds, and many more send us messages by email and social media. It's an unparalleled opportunity to hear what's on the minds of our youth.

This year, we see one issue weighing on young people more than any other: bullying.

 
Read more here