The TABASCO project responds to the horizontal priority: “Innovative practices in a digital era”. This priority is related to other priorities: “Common Values, Civic Engagement and Participation in Society” and “Social inclusion”. Young people are online, also in educational settings; their presence includes social interaction. The internet creates opportunities: online learning and cooperation, leisure contacts, shopping and selling. The importance of these opportunities is growing. Tabasco fosters fair online behaviour of users of social media. It will develop and offer tools to avoid situations where the safety and well-being of young people is at stake: online computer applications and the internet in general are full of risks. Young people face risks as users of social media, most of which they are not aware of: - no protection against harmful contents or behaviours, - privacy-unfriendly default settings on devices, - cyber-bullying and other harassments, - online pornography, - discriminatory expressions, stereotyping ethnic minorities, - stalking, cybercrime. Youngsters often do not know why and how personal data are collected, processed and stored. The Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)4 of the Committee of Ministers to the EU on protection of human rights with regard to social networking, says: “Social networking services play an increasingly important role in the life of children and young people, as part of the development of their own personality and identity, and as part of their participation in debates and social activities. Against this background, children and young people should be protected because of the inherent vulnerability that their age implies”. The younger the user, the more relevant this recommendation! Awareness of the complexity of social media is necessary to prevent abuse; the education about these aspects should start early and involve pupils, teachers, parents, school leaders and others. In line with the Paris Declaration the TABASCO project will promote vigilance against threats. Online harassment of young people may affect their personal development and mental health, particularly of those who are marginalized and vulnerable. The TABASCO project fosters Inclusive Education and Social Inclusion: - participation based on the equality of people, also in education: learners, teachers, school leaders, parents, policy-makers. - empowering learners to have fair communications online, regardless of specific features: gender; (dis)ability; ethnicity, religion health condition, migration, etcetera. TABASCO responds also to another priority: “Strengthening the profile(s) of the teaching professions”: it intends to train teachers how to learn pupils how to interact safely on social media. All instruments produced by the project will answer reported needs of young people. TABASCO will bring benefits to: - young learners in late primary and secondary education, including VET: newly designed lessons (Webquests), events and actions will teach them to successfully defend themselves against online threats and risks. - teachers and school leaders will learn to detect online abuse and cyber-bullying and how to support young victims. - parents will learn to detect and help children to avoid online abuse and cyber-bullying and support them when victimized. - external stakeholders: decision makers will take notice of the threats for young people and they will see how specific measures and tools developed by the Tabasco project are effective in combatting cyber-bullying. Tabasco will research best practices in bullying prevention, add necessary approaches and assemble these in an overall toolkit, available to teachers and parents and other stakeholders. An online platform will be constructed, where project outcomes are available to any visitor. Parallel to this, an online forum will be installed, where different interactions take place: - between project partners for discussions (closed environment) - between teachers and parents to give feedback on intermediate products of the project - among learners and youngsters outside education, involved in the Tabasco anti-bullying Campaign to discuss future actions and events to prevent cyber-bullying. Tabasco wants to incite young people to start and run an anti-bullying movement that will benefit the whole community. The actions and events may take place in the classroom, the school hall and in other social settings, like leisure groups, sport clubs. Next to the Toolkit offering an integrated set of tools and instruments for bullying prevention, the Tabasco Campaign will be the most important outcome of this project, since a movement run and shared by young people may well continue after the end of the project.
The main goal of our project was to tackle the pressing issue of cyberbullying, which has emerged as a significant societal problem with far-reaching consequences for the emotional and psychological well-being of young people across the European Union. Students (aged 9-19) are increasingly vulnerable to online harassment, and the effects reverberate through their families, schools, and broader communities. To fully embrace the nuance of the issue, we believed it was crucial to engage the young people themselves in shaping the solutions. Thus, a unique aspect of our project was the emphasis on youth leadership in combating cyberbullying. Our initiative empowered students to take the lead in developing and implementing strategies to both prevent and alleviate the problem. By doing so, we fostered a sense of ownership and responsibility among the youth, thereby making the project not only impactful but also sustainable for the long term. Furthermore, we wanted to adopt a whole-community approach, involving not just victims and perpetrators but everyone in the educational ecosystem. By engaging all stakeholders in the battle against online harassment, we aimed to create a culture of collective responsibility and action.
The decision to apply for a project to combat cyberbullying was driven by multiple factors, each as critical as the other. It’s not just the immediacy of the problem that drew us to this cause, but also the scope, the cultural implications, and the long-term effects that cyberbullying can have on individual lives and the fabric of our diverse societies. Cyberbullying is not a localized or niche problem; it is a widespread issue affecting millions of lives across the European Union. It takes on the mental health of young people, and fosters a culture of fear and exclusion that can exacerbate existing social divisions, including those based on race, religion, and nationality, thereby undermining the EU's foundational principles of unity in diversity. In this project we first addressed the need for awareness and education, by producing resources for students, parents, and teachers, to equip them with the knowledge to safely navigate the online world. Secondly, we've tackled the lack of youth engagement in existing anti-bullying initiatives. Our project uniquely positions young people as key stakeholders, involving them in decision-making processes and empowering them to become agents of change within their communities.