Say no to bullying

Abu Dhabi

According to the UK-based National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), 10 per cent of 11 to 16 year olds in the UK alone have been targets of cyber bullying. While there are no official global statistics available, it is clearly a problem. This is one of the facts that inspired me to initiate my ‘Bullying is not okay’ campaign.

Through this campaign, I hope to raise awareness against all types of bullying. Bullying knows no age and can occur anywhere and at any time. In fact, the NSPCC states that cyberbullying is becoming very common.

I was personally a victim of bullying and know exactly how it feels. It had an enormous effect, not only on me, but also on the people around me. I was bullied both verbally and on the internet. Therefore, I decided to take a stand and designed posters with anti-bullying messages and placed them all around my school, so that students who were victims of bullying would know that they were not alone and could openly speak up about the issue.

Also, I wrote a creative play about bullying in order to raise awareness about it, since many people don’t understand what it is. It was a fun process and also encouraging.

Adeeba K., a 15-year-old student at my school, said: “I was a victim of bullying, but now, I’m no longer alone.”

I carried out surveys among students and teachers and was glad to know that my campaign had helped decrease the prevalence of bullying; the results showed that eight out of ten respondents thought cases of bullying at my school had reduced.

I then designed colourful shirts with messages against bullying. Since a large part of my campaign focuses on cyberbullying, I thought the campaign needed an online presence. I created a Facebook page and an Instagram account to spread the word.

The project wasn’t profitable or remunerative, but it gave students a voice and a place to share their experiences regarding bullying, and therefore helped increase their self-confidence. I also gained a lot through this campaign. I wasn’t just able to get past the unpleasant experiences I had, it also helped me build my communication skills, collaboration and team work, dedication, creative thinking skills and most importantly, the ability to convince others.

I hope to one day make a difference around the world by travelling to different countries so as to spread the word of saying ‘no’ to bullying. I will continue my project over my YouTube channel and social media pages. Those who face issues with bullies can use these channels to get in touch with me or others who have been through a similar phase. My Facebok page is www.facebook.com/Yazan-Zamel-Bullying-is-not-okay and my YouTube channel is ‘Yazan Zamel’. We can help each other get through this and also stop bullies from doing what they do.

— The reader is a student at Abu Dhabi International School.

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