With the powerful message of “Respecting Each Other for Who We Are”, BRAC University has organised an Anti-Bullying Awareness Campaign Week starting from 13-17 May 2018, at BRAC University auditorium, to create awareness and develop strategies to prevent bullying effectively.
BRAC Institute of Languages (BIL), Office of Co curricular Activities (OCA) and Counseling Team jointly organised the program.
The main objectives of this Campaign are to provide psycho-education about the psychology of bullies, bystanders and victims and the impacts of it, creating empathy and compassion in the community.
The program of day one stared at 11am at the auditorium on Sunday 13 May 2018. The focus of discussion was on “Verbal and Non-Verbal Bullying”.
A video was screened in the beginning of the event where Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG (Founder and Chairperson, BRAC; Chairperson, Board of Trustees, BRAC University), Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb, Ph.D. (Vice Chancellor, BRAC University), Professor Anisuzzaman Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus, University of Dhaka and Board of Trustees, BRAC University), Sara Zaker (Theater and Television Actress, Director, Business Entrepreneur and Social Activist) gave their valuable speech to create awareness on Bullying.
Later on, the students of BRAC University Cultural Club sang one devotional Tagore song “Anando loke, mangal aloke”. There was also a video presentation of couple of students who experienced “Bullying” from their childhood to adulthood.
The Five Day long Awareness Campaign includes understanding, identifying, and handling different forms of bullying such as Verbal, Non-verbal, Cyber, Physical and Sexual, Social, Psychological and Emotional Bullying.
Tanveer Alam Shawjeeb (Singer) and Mobassher Chowdhury (Singer and Vocalist) performed and shared their thoughts and experience on bullying with the students.
Three students shared their experience of being bullied at school, family and society. In the five day long program, experts from different sectors, such as, mental health, public health, legal aid will facilitate interactive discussions with the audience regarding bullying. Personnel from media will join as guest speakers in the next days of campaign as well.
Initiator of the program Lady Syeda Sarwat Abed, founder and director of the BRAC Institute of Languages (BIL) started her speech with quote by Ralph W. Sockman, “The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority”.
She said to the students that, this program has been organized not only to protect students from bullying but also to engage them to protect others. She urged the teachers to help students who face bullying.
Vice Chancellor Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb, Ph.D. inaugurated the event and said in his inaugural speech that bullying is not a smart act. He expected that students and faculties will address this problem in a collective manner. Everyone has the responsibility to build a better society, he added.
The program of first day ended with taking oath against bullying.