Under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima ... Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood honours anti-bullying champions

21 November 2020

To mark Children's Day on 20th November, the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, SCMC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi and the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, honoured the winners of the second round of the Supreme Council of Motherhood and Childhood Prevention of Bullying in Schools Award.

The award honours persistent efforts in combating and preventing bullying in schools, promotes sustainable positivity in the school environment, highlights innovative initiatives and ideas in preventing bullying in schools, motivates the school community to provide and give, and create a fair competition and love for excellence in the educational field.

Held under the patronage of H.H. 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 awards ceremony took place virtually through the SCMC's social media platforms under strict preventive and precautionary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A group of winning public and private schools, teachers, students, parents, technicians, nurses, students, social workers, and academic and professional counsellors were recognised for their participation in initiatives and projects.

Reem Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the SCMC, congratulated the winners who she said were selected from more than 600 candidates.

The Ministry of Education launched the 4th National Bullying Prevention Week on 14th November, 2020, to raise awareness on bullying in collaboration with the SCMC and in partnership with more than 28 federal and local entities. This year's campaign aimed to address the electronic phenomena of bullying among school students at various educational levels and qualify them on how to deal with it and methods of prevention, explain the relationship between COVID-19 and cyberbullying, correct intervention methods, and the role of professionals in educational institutions in leading programmes to prevent bullying.

The SCMC runs the anti-bullying programme in 64 schools in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Department of Education and Knowledge Abu Dhabi and UNICEF. After assessing 13 successful international programmes, this specific programme was designed for the UAE and is the first of its kind in the Arab world.