Thursday, November 5, 2020: International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying - International Conference on School Bullying among Students.
Bullying at school deprives millions of children and young people of the fundamental right to education. A recent UNESCO report, Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying, reveals that more than 30% of students worldwide have been harassed, causing devastating consequences such as falling school performance, dropping out of school, and physical and mental health problems.
The imposed lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented increase in screen time by children and adolescents. Increased time spent online and lack of structuring can put them at greater risk of cyberbullying .
At the General Conference of UNESCO Member States in autumn 2019, 193 Member States declared the International day Against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying on 1 November each year, including cyberbullying, recognizing that violence in schools in all its forms violates the rights of children and adolescents to education, health and well-being.
As part of the celebration of this International Day, UNESCO and the French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports are jointly organising the International Conference on School Bullying. It will take place in a virtual format on November 5, 2020, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (Local Time of Paris). The Conference is the world's flagship event to mark the celebration of this International Day for the first time.
We hope that a very large number of schools that are members of the RESEAU will be able to connect to follow this conference live on November 5th. Everyone will be able to follow the conference on UNESCO's YouTube and/or Facebook live channel. Links to these two platforms will be communicated on the event page very soon. We warmly encourage all participating ASPnet schools to ask questions and comments on the YouTube and Facebook platforms from which the event will be broadcast live.
Beyond this global International Conference, we hope that the ASPnet schools will engage in activities at the local, national and regional level to celebrate this new International Day. Do not hesitate to be creative and creative in your activities: a video, a poem, a literary text, a small play, a drawing, a song, a webinar between several schools in the region on this theme... Start! J Share with us, on social media and on OTA, the creative activities you will undertake to celebrate this day that is very close to our hearts.
Finally, the whole ASPnet International Coordination team thanks the member schools of our network of UNESCO Associate Schools who have sent a short video to show their vision of violence and bullying at school and the work they undertake to prevent and end all forms of violence and bullying at school. Among the ASPnet schools that sent their testimonies, there are 2 European schools, 2 Arab schools and 2 South American schools
We count on you and your massive mobilization! Thank you very much.