Nov 19 - Childline Gibraltar Host Poster Competition To Mark Anti-Bullying Awareness Month
Childline Gibraltar have held a poster competition to mark Anti-Bullying Awareness Month. Yesterday evening, a prize giving ceremony was hosted at the John Mackintosh Hall attended by the Chief Minster Fabian Picardo and Minister Samantha Sacramento.
The following children picked up prizes:
Overall winner: Bryony Rutherford, Year 7 (Bishop Fitzgerald School)
Year 7 winner: Bryley Robertson (Bishop Fitzgerald School)
Year 8 winner: Cristina Louise Risso (Loreto Convent School)
Year 9 winners: Aidan Braz, Ethan Hendy & Daniel Jess (Bayside Comprehensive School)
The two local schoolgirls behind Childline’s Anti-Bullying Poster Competition and Bake Sale (Amy Azzopardi and Emma Fava), spoke yesterday about how and why they came up with the idea.
Childline provides the following interview with Amy and Emma, from Westside School.
1. How did you come up with this idea?
(Amy) I came up with the idea in a PSHE lesson I had, the lesson was about cyber bullying and I thought, well, why not raise awareness about bullying?
(Emma) I wanted to give back to the community and volunteer somewhere so I decided to get into contact with Childline and, as soon as I heard about everything that was being planned for anti-bullying month, I really wanted to participate.
2. Do you feel bullying is a problem in Gibraltar?
(Amy) In my opinion, I think it is a problem here in Gibraltar but since we are such a small community I think we can make a change.
(Emma) I think bullying is a big problem in Gibraltar, I believe people should be much more aware of bullying and try harder to stop it.
3. What types of bullying concern you?
(Amy) I feel that cyber bullying concerns me the most because it is the most common and easiest way to bully someone.
(Emma) All of the types of bullying concern me. It is my belief that it doesn’t matter how you are being bullied: it is all hurtful and threatening in different ways, whether it is cyber bullying, physical, verbal, or mental bullying - they all hurt.
4. How responsive do you feel Childline has been to your ideas?
(Amy) If it wasn't for Childline none of this would have happened, therefore yes they have been very responsive and great.
(Emma) Childline has been very responsive in all of our ideas and have tried their absolute best in trying to make everything work out for the best.
5. Are you pleased with the responses you have had?
(Amy) Yes, I am very happy with the outcome of all the responses and I'm glad to see that people are educated on the subject and that many people feel it should be prevented.
(Emma) I am extremely pleased with all the responses we have had in the bake sale and in the poster competition. It couldn’t have gone better!
6. How many people entered the poster competition?
(Emma) Lots of different people, from different year groups and different schools have entered the poster competition
7. How much did you raise on the cake stall?
(Amy) In the cake stall we raised nearly £300
8. Would you encourage other young people to approach Childline with their ideas?
(Amy) Definitely, because Childline will help, guide and support anyone with ideas to improve our youth community.
(Emma) Of course I would encourage people to approach Childline with their ideas. They are very responsive and they care about what everyone thinks. They try their hardest to make all of the ideas work out and if something doesn’t work there is always a different way.
9. What do you think should be done to combat bullying in Gibraltar?
(Amy) To combat bullying I think there should be things like; school counsellors, more discipline in school, more workshops relating to bullying.
(Emma) I think in order to combat bullying in Gibraltar, we should raise awareness to all the different types of bullying there are. More people should be aware of how bullying can hurt you. We should also be less lenient towards bullying so it is not so common especially in schools.
A spokesperson for Childline commented: “It has been a delight to work with Amy and Emma on this project and we have been extremely impressed by their maturity and contributions. Their families and teachers can be very proud of them! The messages that local schoolchildren are giving to us through their posters are very strong and will help us mould our future anti-bullying workshops. We urge everyone to go and visit the exhibition this week to see what our youth have to say on the issue.”
All of the competition entries are on display this week at the John Mackintosh Hall.
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