It has been found that young people choose violence as a method of solving conflicts, not because they are the best, but because they do not know other alternatives for the situations they face and thus act “with what is easier and more at hand”. The project will be targeted at children and young people from Marasesti town, where Roma children in schools have a share of over 70%, from Panciu – ”Ioan Slavici” High School, where 65% of pupils come from rural areas, from Focsani – ”Gh. Asachi” High School, where over 85% of the pupils are from the villages, Pedagogical High School ”Spiru Haret” , where 30% are rural students and children from the villages of Garoafa and Ciuşlea. Following a study done in Mărăşeşti by the 4 EVS volunteers hosted in the project Share Volunteering and the questionnaires applied to children and teachers in the city schools, it became clear that the biggest problem faced by students is the violent behavior of their colleagues. The aim of the project is to prevent the phenomenon of bullying among children and young people from the Mărăşeşti, Panciu, Garoafa, Ciuslea and Focsani communities through non-formal education activities. Main objectives: To increase the awareness of children and young people in Vrancea County on the phenomenon of bullying and its effects during the 14 months of the project; To improve the skills of the 8 volunteers in working in the field of education with disadvantaged groups during the 7-month mobility; To increase the motivation of children and youth from participating communities to take responsibility for resolving conflicts in their lives without violence during the 14 months of the project; To develop attitudes of non-discrimination, equality, tolerance, respect among the children and young Romanian participants in the project and European volunteers, during the implementation of the project activities.
The young volunteers should be interested in the topic of the project and willing to engage in an individual volunteering stage for a period of 7 months. They must be willing to carry out activities with children and young people from different disadvantaged backgrounds. They must be empathetic, enthusiastic and have a peer-to-peer support attitude and a good perception of volunteering in a European context. The aim of the activities in schools and high schools will be to provide a neutral area to the children and young people from Marasesti, Panciu, Focsani, aroafa and Ciuşlea to explore the deep causes of bullying and the possible measures and actions to address them from a constructive perspective . All activities will be based on non-formal education and will be achieved through an interactive approach. Activities with children and young people will be realized through group-work, teamwork, role plays and plenary discussions as well as theoretical contributions of specialists from the Vrancea Police, probation counselors and the intervention of school psychologists who will join the 8 European volunteers and will complete the program of activities to cover all aspects of the bullying phenomenon. We will organize workshops, awareness raising campaigns, art craft exhibitions, sports activities, participatory activities that will have as main themes rules of intercommunity, the importance of the appropriate language, ways of addressing, respect for the other, preservation of the school goods, tolerance, solidarity, in short, a way to behave so that life in community is as pleasant as possible. Activities will take place during the classes of personal development, civic
education, physical education, religion, art and craft, psychology, homeroom/advisory classes, in order to have a common component with school planning and not to disturb the schedule. By
implementing the project activities, there will be a contribution to ensuring a safe and pleasant environment for the 8 participating schools, especially for the children and young people who attend them. As a result of participation in the non-formal activities of the project, over 1800 children and young people from the schools and high schools participating in the project will have an increased level of knowledge of the phenomenon of bullying and its effects. Over 60 teachers directly involved in activities will be more responsible for transmitting and reinforcing the anti-aggression message on EN 116 / 119 a regular basis. The participation of the 8 young people for 7 months in voluntary activities will contribute to a better understanding of the concepts of using non-formal education methods in working with disadvantaged children and young people and an increased understanding of the European context on these topics. Clear anti-bullying policies will be developed for the correct management of bullying situations in each partner school. Each school participating in the project will include in the school regulations fundamental aspects for identifying, recognizing and intervening early in bullying situations.
