Progress report – Basta de bullying consultancy
As it approaches its first anniversary, the Basta de bullying: no te quedes callado (Stop bullying: Speak up!) campaign in Latin America is gathering steam.
Led by our client Cartoon Network (under its CSR program, The Cartoon Movement, which Rain Barrel has helped design), the initiative is supported by two global NGO partners – Plan International and World Vision – and the two largest urban school systems in the region: Mexico City and Sao Paulo. The campaign’s PSAs, featuring celebrities and cartoon characters, are being broadcast to the 40 million homes that subscribe to Cartoon Network in Latin America and the Caribbean. CN also has a dedicated website for 6-11 year olds (bastadebullying.com) Bullying is the main theme of parent-and-child races organized by Cartoon Network in six countries this year; the events are expected to draw over 25,000 people and part of the proceeds are going to local NGOs involved in anti-bullying efforts. Facebook, the region’s leading social network, created an application especially for the campaign where users can sign a pledge against bullying and share their experiences with violence and discrimination.
To date, close to 300,000 kids, teachers and parents have signed the Basta de bullying pledge – most of them in communities and schools, and others online. Over 800 schools have become Escuelas 100% Comprometidas, meaning that the entire student body and school staff committed themselves to stop bullying. Here’s an image of the plaque that will appear on the front of qualifying schools:
A comprehensive school toolkit will be distributed early next year with information about bullying, specifically targeting: 1) primary school pupils; 2) secondary students; 3) primary school teachers; 4) secondary-level teachers; 4) school principals and administrative staff; and 5) parents. It approaches peer-to-peer violence from the perspective of its victims as well as from the standpoint of witnesses and bullies themselves and responsible adults. The tool kit advocates for a broad, child-rights approach with a lot of emphasis on the problems of discrimination that almost always underpin bullying.
Based on best international practices, the kit encourages schools to create Comités de Convivencia (Getting-Along-Together Committees) that take a whole-school, preventative approach that values diversity, as opposed to harsh punishment (suspension/expulsion/call-in-the-cops). The kit provides practical tips to help each of the target groups grapple with this complex, longstanding social problem that has received far too little attention, despite the fact that Latin America is the region with the biggest bullying problem, according to research using UNESCO data.
You wouldn’t think a project dealing with violence involving kids could be much fun. But working with Cartoon Network and its loony animated characters, and a group of solid-gold partners, we’ve shifted the focus from victimization to empowerment. And here’s proof:
