Anti-Bullying Week takes place from Monday, 11 to Friday, 15 November. Digify Africa says that it utilises its acclaimed iLizwe Lam programme and Kitso WhatsApp bot to promote a culture of safety and support, specifically targeting learners, educators and adults as they navigate online and offline environments.

Qhakaza Mohare, Digify Africa COO says, "Empowering young people with digital and social skills is essential to creating a culture of respect and safety both online and offline. With iLizwe Lam, Meta, Kitso and the support of our stakeholders, we're committed to equipping our youth with the knowledge to stand against bullying and foster an inclusive community. We have trained a combined total of 6 674 learners and adults so far on iLizwe Lam and 1 271 learners on Kitso. We hope to go beyond that as we will be in Jabulani, Soweto."

Through this event, Digify Africa reaffirms its mission to address critical social issues facing young people in the digital age. "We are continuing to support the well-being of our youth in Africa," says Mohare.

The anti-bullying event brought together learners, educators, parents and community leaders in one room to tackle the growing challenge of bullying in South Africa, says Digify Africa.

According to one of the stakeholders for the event Childline South Africa, "Bullying gangs often become violent gangs that are involved in crime, so schools need to respond proactively to bullying to prevent it becoming gangsterism. Research shows that most children believe that when they report the bullying to an educator nothing is going to be done to stop it."

According to Digify Africa, some of the key activities on the day included interactive and creative workshops whereby learners and educators / adults came up with messages against bullying while sticking to this year's theme 'Choose Respect'.

The attendees further participated in activities aimed at understanding the impacts of bullying, how to respond to it effectively and also learning how to do so with Kitso WhatsApp bot and iLizwe Lam, concludes Digify Africa.

For more information, visit www.digifyafrica.com. You can also follow Digify Africa on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of contributor