In an effort to understand the role social technology plays in bullying and cyber-bullying, Santa Monica will be host to one of 75 events organized by Social Media Week this Friday, Sept. 23.
A town hall meeting titled “Putting a Stop to Bullying & Cyber Bullying” will be held at the Santa Monica Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Up -and-coming country music artist, Kylie Morgan, is joined by a panel of peers who will share their perspectives on the vicious cycle of youth violence. Each have either (i) been bullied; (ii) been a bully in the past, or (iii) initiated an anti-bullying campaign.
Featured participants include members of the Boys & Girls Club, a winner of the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, and a winner of a Teen Truth Film Festival. Kylie Morgan will perform live. Lee Fox, KooDooZ founder and youthologist, is the moderator.
By name, these panelists are:
• Special guest Kylie Morgan (age 16) co-wrote “Phoebe” (It Matters What We Do), a song dedicated to Irish-born teenager Phoebe Prince who tragically succumbed to bullying and took her life in 2010. Kylie is using the power of her song to send a message of support and compassion to those suffering the abuse of bullying as well as a call to action for those witnessing it. TeensAgainstBullying.com, a site for teens to find ways to address bullying issues. The original “Phoebe” You Tube video was downloaded more than 76,000 times in its first three days of posting.
• Faith G. (age 12) moved around a lot after her parents got divorced when she was in elementary school. Once Faith settled into a new school, she became bullied because of her red hair and her pigeon toe condition. Sometimes the bullying got so bad, she didn’t want to go to school. She found strength and comfort in her horse, and started using horse therapy to cope with the teasing at school.
• Maya M. (age 12) has overcome physical and verbal abuse by her mentally ill Mother. (It) got so bad, she contemplated suicide. By confiding in a trusted adult, Maya was able to find help and guidance through therapy.
• Alyssa P. (age 13) was selected as one of the finalists in this year’s TEEN TRUTH film festival, “STAND.” She is also a valued member of the Bully Prevention Club at her school. Tyler Page (age 14) is asking youth in his leadership academy, Kids Helping Kids, to adopt “Rachel’s Challenge,” a bullying and violence abatement program created after he experienced bullying abuse. Tyler is the 2011 winner of the Prudential Spirit of Community Award and a recent TEDx presenter.
Formatted as a Town Hall meeting, this event captures the youth perspective on how to tackle the bullying challenge.
Interspersed between panel Q&A are video interviews conducted by youth media company, KooDooZ, purposed to showcase a broader demographic of youth perspective.
Additionally, the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica invites other Clubs, across the country to participate in the event online, and many, like the North San Louis Obispo Country Club have organized a sleep-out in order to participate in the livestream conversation.
ATTEND IN PERSON:
RSVP to: http://socialmediaweek.org/event/?event_id=176 or email [email protected] to guarantee your spot.
ONLINE (Live Stream):
RSVP to email: [email protected] and to
http://www.livestream.com/smw_la1 at 5pm on Friday, September 23rd.
ONLINE (Twitter):
Tweet your questions using the #SMWLAyouth hashtag
@SMBGC is our online moderator.
The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica is located at 1238 Lincoln Blvd. (between Wilshire & Arizona), Santa Monica.
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