Say No to Bullying and Be Safe Online
In case you didn’t already know, Swoosh has been hosting the Cyber Life campaign of the Shaping a Positive Future Project for a few months now. As part of the campaign, Swoosh was invited into two local schools to deliver workshops on staying safe online, beating cyber bullying and where to get help.
The idea for these workshops was to use art to get the message across of staying safe online by looking at four themes; 'Protect It' - protecting personal information, 'Who is It?'- knowing who you’re talking to online, 'Stop It'- stopping cyber bullying and 'Report It' - Knowing where to go to report abuse or bullying
These four themes would be represented across four canvases, with students using their artistic skills to create colourful works of art that spread a powerful message.
Our first arty workshop took place at Beechwood College. Around six students joined us for a full day of drawing, painting and getting a bit messy! The big four canvases looked amazing, and along with a stop-frame animation of the canvases coming to life, the students, teachers and even us were amazed at how quickly and brilliantly the artworks came together! The outstanding art work is now proudly mounted in Beechwoods waiting area, where young people and guests can admire the hard work and creativity of these talented students.
The second school we visited was Ashgrove School in Penarth, where we worked with 30 students throughout the day, building ideas and sketches for their four canvases. Throughout the day young people created stop-frame animation of the artwork coming to life on canvas. In both Ashgrove and Beechwood the V-POD multimedia bus paid a visit to the young people at the lunch time. After an activity packed morning it was great to sit back, unwind and have some fun on board. It provided a well earned break enjoyed by not only students, but the staff too!
This artistic bunch worked extremely hard to complete the artwork and convey the messages of protecting your personal information, know who you are talking to online, putting a stop to bullying and abuse and finally knowing where to report it. You can see from the photographs their eye catching work, should surely grab peoples attention with their bright colours and design.
Beechwood and Ashgrove are proudly showcasing the artwork in their buildings for all to see and admire. We had an absolutely fantastic time working with the students and we hope they enjoyed the Cyber Life workshop days as much as we did and young people at the schools benefit from the story told in their artwork to always be safe online and always report it.
Looking for more information about online safety? - CLICK HERE
A victim of online bullying or abuse? - REPORT IT HERE
