Category: Big March
The Big March, our virtual protest against bullying and cyberbullying
The Big March 2014 / Over 100,000 Europeans are supporting our virtual protest against bullying and cyberbullying
To see the Big March live go to our website now (until 5.00 pm CET): www.coface-eu.org
More than half (55%) of children in Europe who have been bullied said they became depressed as a result, with over a third saying they harmed themselves (35%) or thought about suicide (38%), according to a new poll* conducted by BeatBullying and the #DeleteCyberbullying campaign.
The poll of more than 2,000 adults and children from across Europe found that worryingly, 34% of adults thought that bullying is regarded as a ‘normal part of growing up’, and one in six adults (16%) said it is regarded as ‘character building’ by most people in their country, raising concerns amongst campaigners that the pain caused by bullying still remains hidden to many European citizens.
To raise awareness of this issue and show their support for the millions of children affected, today, young people, parents, schools, and other organisations are joining The Big March 2014 to deliver a virtual petition to the European Commission, calling for new laws and much-needed funding to protect children from bullying and cyberbullying.
The hidden impact of cyberbullying
You can’t always see the pain caused by bullying, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
Please take a moment to watch and share our brand new Big March campaign video. Please share the video with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and any other social networks and help us spread the word!
Almost 95,000 people from across Europe are supporting BeatBullying and #DeleteCyberbullying’s Big March campaign which will take place on 11 June. We are marching online for every child that has hidden their tears, bruises, and scars.
Find out more about what we’re fighting for and sign up today at bigmarch.beatbullying.org
Thank you.
BeatBullying and #DeleteCyberbullying
Have your voice heard: join us in The Big March!
It is now almost a daily occurrence that we hear about a tragedy or a particularly cruel case of cyberbullying in the media across the European Union. As children and young people spend more and more time online in our hyper connected world, the shadow side of the internet is also known to more and more of us.
Cyberbullying is not only researched, but many organisations are doing excellent work in educating young people and parents, and offering a safe place to seek help and guidance. We believe however, that more needs to be done to tackle the global phenomena of cyberbullying. Governments and the European Institutions also bare responsibility in ensuring that the proper legislative framework is there to prevent cyberbullying, and that sufficient resources are allocated to organisations to support victims of cyberbullying through early detection and early intervention.
What better day to call on citizens to join our effort in asking the EU and Members States for more effective legislation, than the UN’s World Day of Social Justice, as Member States themselves have signed up and pledged their commitments to fighting inequalities, and helping the most vulnerable. Perhaps the fight against bullying could also deserve its own European Day.
As an integral part of the #Deletecyberbullying project led by COFACE, we are inviting you today to visit the Big March Park, read more about the issue, pledge your support, and ultimately join us in our virtual, on-line demonstration on the 11th June.
It is very easy to take part in our peaceful online demonstration: participants are invited to register on bigmarch.beatbullying.org and create a personalised avatar of themselves, and eventually join masses of other citizens across the EU in marching across some of the most well known websites on the 11th June.
Please also come and visit the #DeleteCyberbullying tent in the Big March Park, where you can see what our project is about, the short animated video in 9 languages, our infographics and the testimonies of young people.
We are calling for the right of children to be protected online! Create your avatar and join the #BigMarch here: bigmarch.beatbullying.org
To keep up-to date on the fight against cyberbullying, follow #deletecyberbullying on @dcyberbullying.
The Big March Survey
We would like to find out more about the bullying that happens all around Europe. Your answers will help to make The Big March 2014 a success. Please share this survey with your friends and family – the more people take part, the better we can understand the nature of bullying in your country.
This is the URL which links to the survey in English, German, French and Spanish: http://archive.beatbullying.org/BigMarchSurvey.html
We will pull off preliminary data in the next few weeks to develop news stories about the extent of bullying in different parts of Europe.
Thank you very much!
More updates on : @dcyberbullying Scoop.it Facebook
#DeleteCyberbullying 