In an attempt to bring all kinds of bullying to the attention of the UK public, a number of leading bullying charities have joined together to create a national Anti-Bullying Week. Anti-Bullying Week is normally held in November in the United Kingdom and organisers hope that a similar event can be held again in 2017.
Wear Blue Day. As part of Anti-Bullying Week, the charities asked individuals to wear blue clothing on a set day in order to show their support for the campaign. The colour blue was chosen because it is often considered to be symbolic of sadness and depression. These emotions are often associated with the effects of consistent bullying. However, blue can also be a symbol of peace.
Although Wear Blue Day was only designed for people living in the United Kingdom, the campaign was picked up by some other people who were living and working in continental Europe.
Raising Awareness. Raising awareness about the different types of bullying that occur in the United Kingdom was a very important part of the anti-bullying campaign. Although a lot of ideas and resources were targeted towards schools, the groups who were involved also sought to raise awareness of bullying aimed at adults. Over the past decade, reality TV shows have shown that the bullying culture is still alive and well in many adults, with some adults not even aware that their actions could be considered as bullying. High profile events sought to encourage adults to consider the effects of their actions, especially around their colleagues in the workplace. A number of high profile celebrities also became involved in the events, either directly or by sharing Anti-Bullying Week 2016 content on their social media accounts.
Resources for Schools. The groups who were running anti-bullying week also helped to produce a number of different resources to promote anti-bullying strategies in schools. These resources were designed to help to make it easier for schools to run their own anti-bullying weeks. The resources included ideas to help teachers to plan lessons that focus on bullying in schools and what to do if you or someone that you know is being bullied. As well as reducing incidents of bullying in school age children, it is hoped that these lessons will help to create a culture in the future where bullying is not acceptable in any circ*mstances.
Moving Forwards. Plans are already underway for the Anti-Bullying Week 2017. In preparation for anti-bullying week, thousands of children and adults are being surveyed about their experiences of bullying. Understanding the experiences of bullies and people who are bullied can help anti-bullying campaigners to develop strategies that are suitable for modern life. There are lots of ideas in the pipeline, including an interactive anti-bullying workshop which includes games, performances, presentations and group activities. Some of these workshops aim to get people to interact with their peers.
Young people are also being encouraged to use new media to create content that would be relevant and interesting to their peers, such as Youtube videos, memes and gifs. Cyber bullying is becoming more prolific every year, so anti-bullying campaigners are trying to develop more cyber strategies to help to combat them. The team behind the strategy are also planning on giving awards to those who have done the most for anti-bullying.
