Egypt’s first national campaign calling to end peer-to-peer violence was launched last week in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE) in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and funded by the European Union (EU).

“This campaign urges children, parents and caregivers to speak up against bullying in educational and non-educational settings and seek guidance from trained professionals through the national Child Helpline 16000 that provides 24/7 support and is also an active channel to report severe cases in which the safety of a child is at risk,” stated Dr. Azza Al Ashmawy, Secretary General of National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM).

Private sector partners have showed their support to the campaign cause by committing to help spread its messages through their platforms. A number of national celebrities as well as UNICEF Egypt Ambassadors Actor Ahmed Helmy and Actress Mona Zaki, are echoing the campaign messages on social media and sharing their stance against bullying. The campaign encourages children and young people around the country to voice their experiences, views and solutions to end bullying using the campaign hashtag #IAmAgainstBullying.

“With the launch of this campaign, we are witnessing the continuation of national efforts to end all forms of violence against children in Egypt. We support these efforts through the different programmes the EU funds in the country, specifically through the project ‘Expanding Access to Education and Protection for At Risk Children’,” said Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt. “It is essential for the wellbeing and development of children to invest resources and efforts to secure a safe learning environment for all girls and boys, an environment that is free from peer to peer bullying at school and elsewhere,” he added.

Launched under the auspices of NCCM, the campaign will last until the first week of October and will consist of three Public Service Announcements that will be disseminated on broadcast and social media, as well as outdoor awareness billboards that will be seen across Egypt. The digital platforms of the campaign partners will also disseminate advice and tips to children, parents, teachers and caregivers on ways to face bullying.

For more information

Video #ImAgainstBullying

Anti-bullying campaign webpage – UNICEF