Anti-bullying charter to be launched by young people

Young people will be launching an anti-bullying charter at a youth conference organised by young people and Herefordshire Council this week.

Herefordshire youth council has been working hard on developing a young person-friendly version of the charter. They will be talking to other young people at the conference to find out how they feel about bullying and what they would like to see in the charter.

The conference, which takes place on Friday 31st October at Hereford Sixth Form College, is a free event for 11 to 19 year olds and has been organised by the Herefordshire Youth Council, the Shadow Board and Youth Opportunity Fund team with support from Herefordshire Council's youth service. Together, they are collaborating on an anti-bullying charter which is clear and simple to understand across a wide age range. The charter will be the focus of consultation at the conference and eventually schools, pupils and youth centres across the county will be asked to sign up to it.

The conference events have all been organised by young people with support from the council's youth service. Following a short introduction from the youth council on the anti bullying charter the young people attending will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of workshops which include drama, dance, music, self defence and art.

In the afternoon, the infamous Scary Guy will be running a session with the young people before they get the chance to grill council chiefs and MPs on bullying and youth issues in a half hour question time session.

A selection of market stalls promoting services for young people will be open during the breaks and lunch and there are plans to end the day with a live performance from a local band.