The aim of this project was to reduce and potentially even stop bullying in the centre. It was also to make the centre a better place to be, where everyone felt included. They wanted everyone to know what to do if they were ever being bullied and how to identify if they were ever bullying someone. The main aim was to bring everyone together as a group by doing activities and sharing experiences together so they could all get along better.
They selected the social issue of bullying mainly because it was a very relevant issue due to the amount of suicides of young people in Ireland at the time. Many of the members of the group were using a website at the time called Ask.fm, which was being named as a cause for a lot of suicides in the area. This made them think seriously about bullying and the effects it has on people and their families so they felt they just had to pick it as their social issue before anyone in their centre felt that way.
The Action
They worked with a lot of people including all the students and staff of Youthreach. They had several speakers come to the centre from local services to make them more aware of the issue. They also invited an author who has written several books about bullying in to speak to them and were also in contact with a lot of local charities and Galway Bay FM.
Other students and new people coming in to Youthreach will be able to access the message through the Youthreach website. They created an anti-bullying notice board within the centre to give people facts and advice on bullying to further help raise awareness. They also held an anti-bullying awareness week during which they did several activities to help them bond as a group and overall, to raise awareness about their issue. For example, they had banned words, watched movies and launched a Make Us Aware box. After the week they brought out group jumpers which they designed themselves.
A few weeks later they started making a music video for a rap one of the boys had written. It was then launched on YouTube. They worked on an article for the national Youthreach newsletter so that their topic would reach all the other Youthreach centres in the country.
The Impact
They hoped to visit other Youthreaches in the western region to promote their music video. They planned to film and edit their own documentary on the topic of bullying to be posted on YouTube and their own website. They aimed to continue updating the blog and go on local radio to talk about their experiences throughout the YSI project. They all hope to continue to make a happy and safe environment within the centre and that everyone will continue to think before they speak.
Login
