‘EUROPEAN YOUTH UNITE AGAINST BULLYING’ – PRESS REPORT ODENWÄLDER ECHO, 15.07.2015

School project: Theodor Litt School pupils take up the project „RespAct“ of the organization „AYUDH“ Press-report Odenwälder Echo (http://www.echo-online.de/lokales/odenwaldkreis/brombachtal/europas-jugend-einig- gegen-mobbing_15839404.htm), 15.07.2015 Michelstadt, July 14 , 2015: The „Respact“ project is a campaign against cyberbullying in schools that was launched by Ayudh, an international youth organization. The Ayudh group, that is active at the Hof Herrenberg in Kirchbrombach, founded a partnership with the Theodor Litt school in Michelstadt.

The mayor Stephan Kelbert and the bank foundation (Sparkasse-Stiftung) Odenwald support both international and local e orts to protect students and youngsters from falling victim to cyber-harassment. The initiative was literally kicked o by Lucia Rijker, 6-time world champion in boxing and kickboxing, who inspired the Ayudh youth, Theodor Litt School’s teachers and pupils as well as supporters to commit themselves to the project. Bullyism hits every third student Andreas Hirsch, the Ayudh youth leader, pointed out that according to the statistics one out of three students in Europe is a victim of cyber-bullying. That might cause long-term depression, anxiety and a reduced academic performance. Experts are convinced that a strict school regulation is not enough to solve the problem.What it is really needed is a holistic approach from students, teachers and parents in order to create an atmosphere based on respect, tolerance and integration. That is the goal of the RespAct project. The sportswoman Lucia Rijker, who is also famous for playing the role of the „blue bear“ in the Clint Eastwood’s movie „Million Dollar Baby“, led the event giving a statement and a kick-boxing performance. 250 students from grade 5 to grade 9 were invited to meet and exchange with 250 youth from all over the world. The event was made possible by the presence of many youth at the Seminarzentrum Hof Herrenberg in Bromachtal, which is currently hosting the Ayudh annual meeting and youth conference. The sentence „Stop mobbing“, made up by 500 European youth in the schoolyard, was regarded as a common symbol against bullying. The meeting in Kirchbrombach is held under the slogan „Together we can“. Through inspiring talks and workshops, the youth are invited to develop their personal skills and talents in order to contribute to environmental protection and to the strengthening of our society. „Over the part few years, the youth workers of the city of Michelstadt have repeatedly and successfully cooperated with Ayudh“, said mayor Kelbert, expressing the solidarity of the school with the project. „Despite initial skepticism, we have then developed a wonderful partnership with the youth organization of Embracing the World. Previous joint projects and meetings in Michelstadt and Brombachtal proved to be very enriching for us“. After the kick-o meeting, the RespAct Project will be implemented through a workshop at the Theodor Litt School, with the objective of developing a long-lasting strategy against cyberbullying.