Egypt's current account gap narrows, but overall BoP records deficit    Egypt's PM reviews debt reduction strategy, eyes more private investment    Egypt hosts international neurosurgery conference to drive medical innovation    Egypt, India discuss expanding industrial, investment partnerships    World Bank proposes Egypt join new global health initiative    Egypt's EDA discusses Johnson & Johnson's plans to expand investment in local pharmaceutical sector    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Egyptian pound ticks down in early Tuesday trading    Famine kills more Gaza children as Israel tightens siege amid global outrage    Kuwait's Crown Prince, Egyptian minister discuss strengthening cooperation    Egyptian Drug Authority discusses plans for joint pharmaceutical plant in Zambia    Egypt's FM seeks deeper economic, security ties on five-nation West Africa tour    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt exports 175K tons of food in one week    Giza Pyramids' interior lighting updated with new LED system    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, Uruguay eager to expand trade across key sectors    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



#ImAgainstBullying campaign hails mass interaction, triggers commitment, changes desires
Published in Daily News Egypt on 26 - 09 - 2018

When Egypt's first national campaign against bullying kicked off around a month ago, professionals working for the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), responsible for the national Child Helpline, knew they will be inundated with phone calls from children seeking help to stand against bullying. Nonetheless, it was far away from their imagination to receive a phone call from a young girl in tears, aged only 7, who is being bullied just because her father passed away.
"She cried while mentioning that she is left abandoned and no one wants to talk to her as she has become an orphan. All of her neighbours and friends refuse to talk to her, and would only make fun of her for not having a dad," Azza Al-Ashmawy secretary general of the NCCM told Daily News Egypt at the campaign's closing ceremony, which took place on Monday.
The social campaign calling to end peer-to-peer violence was launched in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE) in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and funded by the European Union (EU).
At Egypt's National Museum for Civilisation, the campaign celebrated a remarkable, unexpected success within a few weeks from its launch, with the attendance of Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt Bruno Maes, UNICEF's representative in Egypt, Minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram, and Mohammed Amr, deputy minister of the MOETE.
The #ImAgainstBullying campaign is a one of the EU's supported projects called "Expanding Access to Education and Protection for At Risk Children in Egypt" which the EU funds with €30m.
"Today doesn't mark the end of the campaign, yet, the start of a real change," Surkoš said in his speech, adding "with the EU support to the nationally-led campaign addressing bullying, we are pleased to see it trigger a public dialogue refusing bullying as a type of violence faced by children."
In her speech, Al-Ashmawy stated that the national Child Helpline 16000, which provides 24/7 support, received over 30,000 calls since the start of the campaign until 23 September with an average of 1,800-2000 calls per day, and over 20,000 messages through Facebook.
"We received several phone calls from children who are being bullied, and others who feel helpless while standing silently seeing other children being attacked," she added.
Al-Ashmawy added to DNE that most of the calls came from 11-18-year-old children residing in Cairo.
"However, in this campaign, we don't only target children, we seek the help of children, parents, and teachers to stand against bullying and all sorts of violence children face in schools," she asserted. She added that children came up with several ideas, which they wanted the NCCM to deliver to the Ministry of Education including, "having a detention room for bullies to stay in for a whole week, in order to be stamped just as he stamps other children."
For his side, Maes told DNE that the campaign has a long-term plan to fight violence against children including "strengthening child protection mechanisms and systems through child protection committees in different governorates."
"The government is strengthening these committees, which lead and accelerate the identification of any case of abuse, neglect or violence against children, and more importantly to activate a referral mechanism to detect and report the abuse cases," he said.
He asserted that bullying is a serious global issue, and that the campaign is not only launched in Egypt, yet in different countries throughout the region.
According to him, what triggered the importance of launching the #IamAgainstBullying campaign was a study conducted by the NCCM and the UNICEF in 2015 focusing on Cairo, Alexandria, and Assiut. The study disclosed that the highest level of violence facing children occurs at home, followed by school, with 29-47% of children aged between 13-17-years old reporting that physical violence among peers was commonplace.
The study came according to the latest global data published in 2011, indicating that slightly over 1 in 3 students aged between13-15 around the world experience bullying.
Makram shared her own experience of being bullied, both as a child, and as an adult.
"People think bullying only happens amongst children. In fact, it is an act that has no age. I was personally bullied for being tall, and even after becoming a minister, I still hear and read about me being labelled as ‘the tall minister,'" she elaborated.
However, she promised that the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriate Affairs aims to play an active role in preventing children of expatriates from being bullied.
"They are mostly bullied due to their different appearance, accents, or their lacking capability of speaking Arabic fluently," she explained, adding, "we try to help them fit into the society through various workshops."
Maes concluded the event by sharing that the campaign witnessed the interaction of around 55 million people, each by participating with their own experience of being bullied, or—in some cases—by apologising to those they previously assaulted.


Clic here to read the story from its source.