Based on the 8 MAIN GOALS listed in the Application Form, our project spurred as follows: - PREVENTION: by promoting open communication, a safe environment, and community-wide involvement, all involved stakeholders learnt how to detect and prevent bullying before it starts. This involved teaching bystanders how to intervene, or helping bullied students develop strategies to assert themselves or ask for help. We wanted to foster positive communities and increasing awareness by means of: - COLLABORATIVE APPROACH: engaging students, parents, staff, and stakeholders was crucial for creating a comprehensive anti-bullying strategy. - ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP: all project activities promoted responsible citizenship (taking initiative and being involved) and ethical behavior as part of a lifelong learning process - WIDER COOPERATION in learning through innovative educational methods involving relevant policies and collaboration with educational stakeholders. - Acquisition of SKILLS AND KEY COMPETENCES among students and teachers. To reach our goals it's been crucial to create a set of project results and other tangible outcomes, both in terms of participants' involvement and in term of short and long term dissemination.
The BOOST! project acknowledges the increasing wide-spreading of bullying, especially in its digital forms, and its negative consequences for students' mental and physical health, while schools are often unprepared to address these evolving forms of bullying. A cooperation among different schools and, therefore, different perspectives and approaches to bullying issues, was considered the right answer to the school ethical and legal responsibility to prevent any form of bullying. All partner schools, except for the Estonian one, didn't actually have an official prevention program, neither they had a clear definition and reporting system. Thanks to the project, students have been therefore "equipped" with solid knowledge and skills to become responsible citizens who actively promote tolerance, respect, and social cohesion both at school and in the wider communities, while fostering critical thinking and media literacy. This has been possible thanks to a solid teachers' training: teachers, counselors, and other staff have received constant training to identify bullying, respond effectively to incidents, support involved students and promote a respectful and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued.