The project DAB-Dance against Bullying has the main aim of tackling the phenomenon of bullying among young people, using the tools of contemporary dance and developing an innovative methodology. Bullying has been raising concerns of local authorities and youth workers in the last decade for its vicious effects on those affected and as a sign of social unease by those practicing it. Both the European Commission and the Council of Europe have dedicated to the issue policy papers and recommendations that were integrated by local and European projects such as the "European Antibullying network" ( Dafne II project-2014) and "I Am Not Scared" (KA1 Policy Cooperation and Innovation). The DAB-Dance Against Bullying projects aims at integrating the good practices already existing within a new approach based on dance workshops bringing together youth workers and young people unite in the fight against bullying. Indeed, dance, with positive effects that music and movements have in the development of young people, is a great tool to work for the empowerment and resilience against violence and abuses. The Consortium is composed by 5 experienced organizations: - ESSEVESSE: French contemporary dance company carrying out social activities with young people in Marseille. - EUNI PARTNERS: Bulgarian NGO very active in the schools with cultural and social projects in Blagoevgrad. - AICSCC: Romanian association based in Iaçi, that brings together psychologists and youth workers dealing with young people affected by personal disorders. - CEIPES: European NGO based in Palermo and active in 8 European Countries, realizing social projects in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Palermo. - THE SMILE OF THE CHILD: is the largest Greek association committed to the welfare of the children and their families. The main objectives of project are: -To tackle bullying behaviours amid young people; -Improve, with a new methodology, competences and knowledge of youth workers; -To promote the use of dance as a tool to tackle bullying, through the development of the White Paper, a web-portal with video lessons and the implementation of dance workshops; -To promote the values of inclusion, non discrimination and equity; -To promote methods of non-formal education; -To strengthen the international cooperation within the consortium of DAB’s project; In order to achieve these objectives, the following intellectual outputs will be develop: I.O 1 : Benchmark Report for "Dancing Against Bullying": Will be focused on the current scene of bullying in partner countries and provide the background for the particular, in-depth needs analysis; it will represent highly useful tool for the development of the project’s aims, investigating the youth workers' background and qualification in each partner country and their needs in relation to their professional development. I.O 2: Local Dance Workshops: will represent the practical “test” to verify the validity of the approach of dance against bullying; the workshops will be implemented, in each partner country, in two different phases - involving at first the 10 youth workers, and after, at least 15 young people. I.O 3: DAB Web-Portal with the Video lessons , in which will be uploaded the videos, done by the workers themselves, and the translation of the White Paper, in the national languages of the partners; it represent a support for other stakeholders and local and international operators wishing to draw inspiration by the project for future, similar actions I.O 4: The White Paper called “Dance Against Bullying, an important document that will be shared among stakeholders, policy makers (both local, national and European), social and youth workers; it will make the project an updated, global and lasting instrument for the understanding and fighting of the phenomenon of Bullying in Europe. The Consortium aims to make the project visible to a wide audience and sustainable. An articulated strategy for the dissemination will be discussed and realized, thanks to the multiplier potential of the partners, particularly of CEIPES (that thanks to its local and international networks) will be responsible of the dissemination. We are confident that the impact on both the capacity development of the youth workers, the empowerment of the indirect target of young people and the dissemination of the project results will make the project DAB-Dance Against Bullying a successful example of international cooperation for a common European challenge. The project's duration is 24 months, from July 2019 to June 2021.
The main objectives of the “DAB: Dance Against Bullying” project are: -Fight against bullying behavior among young people. -Improving, with a new methodology, the skills and knowledge of youth workers. -Promote the use of dance as a tool in the fight against bullying, through the development of the White Paper, a web portal with video tutorials, a toolkit for youth workers and the setting up dance workshops. -Promote the values of inclusion, non-discrimination and equity. -Promote non-formal education methods. -Strengthen international cooperation within the DAB project consortium. -Make the developed tools accessible to a wide audience -Create a prevention methodology complementary to the methods implemented by governments in Europe.
Bullying is an issue of concern that is increasingly attracting the attention of socio-political and cultural institutions and requires joint action by associations and educational institutions in Europe. The “DAB” project addresses youth workers and pursues the objective of combating bullying behavior among young people through dance workshops. In all its forms, harassment jeopardizes the common values of freedom, non-discrimination and tolerance and has a dangerous impact on those targeted, causing situations such as isolation, anxiety, constant fear, depression and, in some cases, even suicide. Why dance? For some young people, the simple fact of taking a dance class, especially boys, can be a reason for harassment. One message the DAB partners want to get across is that dancing isn't just about "pointed feet" or "tutus". Dance is a holistic art, a progression of styles and techniques encompassing sensitivity, critical eye, creativity, self-awareness and mutual understanding, in a common effort to uproot any pretense of bullying.