Students from across the province gathered in Saskatoon Wednesday for an anti-bullying forum.
The forum is one of the recommendations outlined in the Saskatchewan Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying.
Saskatoon Sask Party MLA Rob Norris, one of the keynote speakers, says the forum is an opportunity to bring students and educators together to explore solutions to bullying within the school system.
“This is about providing the students, and it’s really important that it is the students, an opportunity to share stories, think about and maybe explore solutions to bullying but also cyberbullying,” he says.
Katie Roberts is a Grade 11 student at Senator Allen Bird Memorial School in Montreal Lake Cree Nation.
She says cyber or online bullying is the most common type amongst students because of the anonymity it offers to the perpetrator.
“People, they don’t have enough courage to go up in front of that person to say it to them, so they feel more protected saying it with a keyboard so they can bring the other person down and lower their confidence,” she says.
About 150 students attended the second annual Student First Anti-Bullying forum.
Aside from Norris, University of Regina educator Dr. Alec Couros was one of the keynote speakers.