Mobile app to address bullying

By Konstantinos Kakouros

A MOBILE phone application that will help to tackle bullying was presented during a press conference held at the Cyta head offices in Nicosia yesterday.

The “HFCBeatBullying” app, currently available only for Android devices, was presented by “Hope For Children” senior advisory board member Dr. Antonis Stylianou and is the result of cooperation between Cytamobile-Vodafone and the Hope For Children UNCRC Policy Centre.

The application is free to download and can make access to advisory services much easier. It offers updates on the latest news about bullying and refers users to the 116111 European Helpline for Children and Adolescents, a free and confidential helpline operating in 23 European countries. Dr. Stylianou said that the application’s goal – apart from guiding and supporting children – is to make the problem of school bullying more visible and raise awareness about the Beat Bullying campaign.

Cyta’s Communication Director Rita Karatzia, Dr. Monica Shiakou, coordinator of the “Beat Bullying” campaign and Marilia Pantzaris, senior educational psychologist at the Ministry of Education stressed that the problem of school bullying is still present in the Cypriot society and that Cyta’s collaboration with the NGO aims at putting an end to the problem. According to a 2008-2010 survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, 17% of primary school pupils in 5th and 6th grade had been victims of bullying and a further 10% of those suffer from a severe or very severe form of post-traumatic stress disorder that requires specialised therapeutic care.

Ambassadors of the “Beat Bullying” campaign were also present at the press conference. TV presenter Chrysanthos Tsouroullis, music producer George Theofanous, actress Christina Pavlidou and footballer Dionysis Chiotis shared personal experiences of school bullying and stressed the need to effectively address the issue. Tsouroullis said he had been a victim of bullying as a teenager because his mother was a Turkish-speaking news presenter at CyBC. George Theofanous said that all children – bullies included – need our help, while Christina Pavlidou said that her daughter had been bullied in the past. Apoel goalie Chiotis said that parents have to be close to their children and that football can bring children together.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.