Welcome!

Dear Young Ambassador, Welcome to YAB training platform! We are thrilled to have you join our training program. This platform has been designed specifically to provide you with a comprehensive and interactive learning experience. Through this platform, you will have the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and enhance your skills concerning bullying. Our expert team of professionals have crafted each course to provide you with relevant and practical insights to support your role as young ambassador. In addition to the self-paced learning modules, you will also have the chance to engage with other Young Ambassadors from your own and another country through the forums. Once again, welcome to our training platform. We look forward to being a part of your learning journey and witnessing your growth and success.

• First of all, some short definitions…
• The young Ambassador
• The sentinel activity

First of all, some short definitions…

What is Bullying?

Bullying is a phenomenon that affects boys and girls without distinction. The term, "bullying" literally means "to intimidate" and can involve very obvious bullying or more subtle forms of bullying which concern the area of ​​the relationship and acts through more subtle and veiled exclusion. This is often more difficult to identify for external observers as it involves "psychological" aggression rather than physical violence. 

For the purposes of the law, the term "bullying" means aggression or repeated harassment, by a single person or a group of people, against one or more victims, in order to cause them feelings of anxiety, fear, isolation or marginalization, through harassing acts or behaviour, physical or psychological pressure and violence, instigation to suicide or self-harm, threats or blackmail, theft or damage, offenses or derision, also the race, language, religion, sexual orientation, political opinion, physical appearance or personal and social conditions of the victim. (from art. 1 paragraph 2 of the law proposal 3139 of 2016).

What is Cyberbullying?

For the purposes of the law, the term «cyberbullying» means any behavior or act, even if not repeated, which is perpetrated through the use of the telephone network, the internet, instant messaging, social networks or other telematic platforms . It also means the creation, publication and online diffusion (through the network, chat rooms, blogs or forums) of images, audio or video recordings, or other multimedia contents, made for the purpose of offending the honor , the decorum and reputation of one or more victims, as well as identity theft and impersonation operated by computer means in order to acquire and manipulate personal data, or to publish information harmful to the honour, decorum and reputation of the victim." (from art. 1 paragraph 2 of the law proposal 3139 of 2016).

What are the roles in a bullying episode?

• The child or young person (CYP) engaged in bullying behavior: is the person who commits acts of bullying.

• The helper: he is a follower of the CYP engaged in bullying behavior. He often acts in a bullying manner as well, but may not be leading or as active as others.

• The supporter: is the one who by laughing, inciting or simply observing tends to reinforce the bully's behavior.

• The target: is the one who the bullying is directed at or who is victimised.

• The upstander or defender: is the one who stands up for the victim by trying to console him or her or to make the bullying stop
• The outsider: is a passive bystander who tries to stay out of the situation
  • 
    

The young Ambassador

Who is the Young Ambassador

The young ambassador is a student of any age, who serves as the school’s focal point of anti-bullying, helps raise awareness about bullying, and to whom other students can turn for help or provide support for those experiencing incidents of physical and online bullying.

Twenty young ambassadors will be selected from each country. At least four of the selected ambassadors will be young people with a disability. 

How to select the Young Ambassador

Young ambassadors can be chosen based on a voluntary basis, for example by one young person per class volunteering to act as an ambassador. The young ambassadors can be between 11 and 19 years old, and can be a young person with a disability. It is important that students are chosen who have the time to commit to the ambassador position, and it does not impact other commitments (such as exam preparation or other roles).

 

The training for Young Ambassadors 

Teachers and selected young ambassadors will receive training and support via the online platform. The platform does not require registration to view the contents and is always accessible.

The training consists of separate lessons for teachers and students on the subject of bullying and with a focus on disabilities.

 

What the Young Ambassador must do after training

1. Participate in creating an anti-bullying campaign   

Three teams of young ambassadors per country will be created. Once they have completed the training, each young ambassador will share the contents of what they have learned with at least 10 peers through peer education. Each ambassador team can choose how they will do this, and can choose, for example, to organize information sessions/classes for their peers, or develop interactive activities.

With the support of teachers, anti-bullying campaigns will be developed, representing possible strategies or initiatives to deal with bullying and cyberbullying in schools. These campaigns should also include a focus on bullying against children with disabilities and supporting participation by students with disabilities in school life. Anti-bullying campaigns will be developed into different materials (videos, presentations, etc.), uploaded to the resource center, and disseminated by the local community members involved.

 

2. Sentinel activity

The Young Ambassador will then be the point of reference for the school to ask for help or to report incidents, acting as a bridge between the students and the referring teacher.

In order for children to have easy access to the Young Ambassadors, it is firstly important to publicize within the school who this figure is and share details about how they can be contacted (for example: posting the names of the Young Ambassadors and the reference class in the school hallways or give notice at the school assembly).

 

The sentinel activity

This document is intended as a guide to share with Young Ambassadors how to set up some activities within the school, with the aim of promoting their role to their classmates.

Post the names of the Young Ambassadors

The first thing to do is make yourself known within the school and let your classmates understand your role and how to contact you. You could post on classroom doors, on the school bulletin board, or at strategic points about who you are, what you do and how they can contact you. We advise you to write some of the following points:

• Brief description of the role of the Young Ambassador
• Who we are (Name Surname of the student - Class …)

The notification box

Another very useful activity can be to build a report box, where your classmates can write concerns or reports. You can organize weekly/monthly occasions in which reports are opened and any questions answered: for example, if the pupil has indicated the class, the Young Ambassadors can leave a response letter in class which the pupil will then collect.

Organize thematic workshops

The basic idea is to share the topics you learned during the online training with your classmates, also using slides. Stimulate their attention by asking questions or organizing activities with them, such as brainstorming and role playing, you will find details in the next paragraph.