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The world’s leading experts come together to tackle bullying
The world’s leading experts come together to tackle bullying

The world’s leading experts come together to tackle bullying

Dublin City University will be home to the largest ever gathering of experts, educators parents and policy-makers who will discuss and share ideas on the best possible methods to tackle bullying, cyberbullying and online safety over the coming days (4-6 June).

Close to 1,000 participants will attend the World Anti-Bullying Forum 2019 for a three-day programme which aims to broaden understanding of bullying, harassment, discrimination, ostracism and other forms of degrading treatment and violence among children and youth and to spread knowledge to practitioners, researchers and decision-makers.

The event has been organised by the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre at DCU, in partnership with FRIENDS, International Bullying Prevention Association and UNESCO and will include contributions from: Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships; Antigone Davis, Global Head of Safety Facebook Instagram; Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, Government Special Rapporteur on Child Protection; Liam O'Brien, CEO Vodafone Foundation; Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, EU Parliament Coordinator for children’s Rights; Mary Mitchell O'Connor TD, Minister of State; Dr. Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children.

Highlighting one of the topics that will be discussed at this year’s forum, James O’Higgins Norman, Director of the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre at DCU, said:

“Irish and international research reveals that physical appearance is the most common reason for being bullied, with race, nationality and skin colour the second most common reason. As Ireland welcomes more migrants and people of different ethnicities we need to double our efforts to ensure that our schools continue to be models of best practice when it comes to tackling identity based bullying. We look forward to discussing this, among other important topics, over the next few days.”

Professor Brian McCraith, DCU President, added:

“The World Anti Bullying Forum is a truly global event that will offer valuable international perspectives on one of society’s most challenging and complex issues. The decision to choose DCU as the venue for the conference is a strong endorsement of the excellent work being conducted by the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, in terms of the practical and policy solutions they have developed in recent years.”  

The World Anti-Bullying Forum 2019 has been supported by UNICEF, Meet in Ireland; Fáilte Ireland; facebook; Dublin City Council; Dublin Bus; ISPCC; foróige; HSE; GAA; Department of Education and Skills; Vodafone.