A teenager from West Lothian has been recognised for tackling bullying.
Sophie O’Mullan has been praised by respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, for her creative and thought-provoking short video ‘Who Am I?’, which addresses bullying behaviour head on and how it makes others feel.
The short video is being celebrated as part of respectme’s #WhatMadeItbetter? campaign, which seeks to empower young people with advice and approaches from those who have experienced bullying.
Sophie’s top tip for anyone experiencing bullying is to speak to someone as it can lift some of the weight off your shoulders, adding.
She added: “You don’t have to go though it in silence.”
The 18-year-old created ‘Who Am I?’ as part of her advanced higher portfolio at St Kentigern’s Academy.
Now in her first year at the University of Dundee, Sophie said: “I’m so happy that my school work is getting the chance to reach a bigger audience as it has an important anti-bullying message at its heart.
“The concept of the augmented reality video is based on the popular guessing game and represents that small things people say can have a huge impact on someone’s life.
“I hope the video encourages young people to speak up and ask for help if they are experiencing bullying.”
Katie Ferguson, Director of respectme, said: “We are delighted to be able to shine the light on Sophie’s creative school work as part of our anti-bullying campaigning.
“‘Who Am I?’ visually and creatively packs a powerful message.
“Words can have a big impact on someone’s life, whether they are face to face or online during this ongoing pandemic.
“We are in the middle of an important development in our campaigning work, it’s a real opportunity for those with lived experiences of bullying to help shape our future work.
“Our campaign resources are free for anyone to explore and include anti-bullying learning resources for parents and carers, schools, youth and sports groups to discuss and address bullying behaviours.
“By sharing the little things that helped you, we can highlight nationally that things can get better for others.”
Bryan Johnstone, acting PTC of Art at St Kentigern’s Academy, in Blackburn, said the school was very proud of Sophie and what she had achieved.
Mr Johnstone continued: “Sophie is an exceptionally gifted student. Her interest in technology and its potential to enhance her work was something we looked to nurture in S6. This work is an outstanding example of this and one which I felt deserved a much bigger audience as it speaks so directly and powerfully.”
The ‘What Made It Better?’ campaign launched during anti-bullying week last year to explore the approaches that helped people deal with bullying behaviour, and continues to provides a platform for young people to feed into anti-bullying solutions.
The campaign mini-site www.whatmadeitbetter.com provides free campaign resources for anyone involved in influencing the life of a young person to help kick-start meaningful conversations about bullying and about what made it better.
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