National Bullying Prevention Week marked

ABU DHABI: The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, SCMC, has intensified its activities during the National Bullying Prevention Week, which was launched by the Ministry of Education, under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, GWU, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, FDF.

The week, held from 17th to 21st November, hosted several workshops in many schools around the UAE.

Reem Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-general of the SCMC, said that the success achieved by the programme has attracted considerable interest both inside and outside the country.

Members of the Children’s Advisory Council also held several workshops at the Islamic English School in Abu Dhabi and the Al Nahdha Girls School, in the presence of Dr. Ammar Al Tamimi from Jordan who visited the council to explore its various programmes, most notably the Bullying Prevention Programme, she added.

WORKSHOP

She further added that the workshop that took place in the Islamic English School benefitted over 200 students, with the participation of Wadeema Al Mansouri, Member of the Children’s Advisory Council, while the workshop held at the Al Nahdha Girls School benefitted over 300 students between the ages of 12 and 15.

Replying to a question about the programme’s outcomes, a representative of the Children’s Advisory Council said that bullying incidents have decreased by two thirds in the country’s schools, which led the Ministry of Education and the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi to launch this year’s National Bullying Prevention Week for the second consecutive year.

The SCMC also successfully implemented the programme in the Emirati Camp School in Jordan during the visit of Al Falasi in October, when she organised five workshops that benefitted 300 students, along with parents, specialists, supervisors, administrative staff and nurses.

The SCMC launched, in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Bullying Prevention Programme, one of 13 international programmes, and the first of its kind in the Arab region. The programme is being implemented in 64 public and private schools.