The Ministry of Education is launching its second National Bullying Prevention Week campaign, running from 18th to 24th November, 2018 and in conjunction with World Children’s Day, to equip students, educators and parents in the UAE with the skills needed to address bullying.
DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 17th Nov, 2018) The Ministry of Education is launching its second National Bullying Prevention Week campaign, running from 18th to 24th November, 2018 and in conjunction with World Children’s Day, to equip students, educators and parents in the UAE with the skills needed to address bullying.
The campaign is in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood and in partnership with more than 25 local and Federal entities.
The campaign has been organised under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and UAE Ministers.
Throughout the week, trained educators and consultants will visit public and private schools to facilitate a number of workshops, lectures and awareness events regarding the actions which can be taken when bullying is encountered in schools and the community. Workshops and lectures will be complemented by social media, cinema and tv advertising campaigns to share the strategies which students and their parents can follow when they encounter bullying. A significant focus of the campaign will also be allocated to raising awareness around how to help students to stop bullying others.
Due to the critical role parents, educators, family members, adults and the community play in fighting bullying, it’s key to let them know that each individual that witnesses or is aware of a bullying incident has a social responsibility to speak up, intervene, show solidarity with the victim or even report to the concerned authorities if necessary. The Ministry calls on the community to be aware of how to identify if someone is being bullied, how they should intervene to break the cycle of bullying, and how to provide support and care to the victims to ensure a safe and bullying free learning environment. During the campaign, the Ministry along with its partners will demonstrate effective interventions that have proven to be successful in preventing or resolving bullying.
As part of the campaign’s activities, four anti-bullying animated films have been developed and will be screened across the UAE. The films, each around one minute in duration, demonstrate various bullying scenarios and the methods parents can adopt to deal with the situation. In addition, activations will be organized at public and private schools around the UAE during the week to engage children, emphasising the virtue of ‘kindness’ as an alternative to bullying.
To further raise awareness, the National Bullying Prevention Week campaign will hold a special event at Global Village on 22nd November 6:00pm – 7.00pm where children, their parents and the general public can view the anti-bullying animated films, meet characters from the campaign and experience various anti-bullying activations.
Commenting on the continuing initiative, Jameela Al Muheiri, Minister of State for Public Education, said: "The activities surrounding the second National Bullying Prevention Week highlight our common values and the efforts the Ministry is making to eliminate bullying across the UAE. By providing students and parents with the tools to prevent, identify, and deal with bullying we can ensure that our schools are considered a safe place by all students, and where their emotional development and educational performance flourish. Accessibility to the initiative, in the form of a relatable character like Abood or tools such as social media and cinema advertising, ultimately help us reach more students and parents with this important information. Studies from around the world have proven the negative long-term effects of bullying and the disruption it causes to a child’s education, it is important we do all we can to prevent bullying from occurring in the first instance."
In addition to the Ministry of Education and Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, National Bullying Prevention Week is presented in partnership with the National Program for Happiness & Wellbeing, Sharjah Social Services Department, Ministry of Community Development, Dubai Foundation For Women & Children, Sharjah Education Council, Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, Ministry of Health and Prevention, United Arab Emirates University, Department of Education and Knowledge Abu Dhabi, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Emirates Youth Council, Supreme Council of Family Affairs, Dubai Police, Abu Dhabi Media and Dubai Media Incorporated and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Abu Dhabi Health Authorty, Social Support Centre at Ajman Police, University of Sharjah, General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments and the Community Development Authority of Dubai.
