This Friday is Pink Shirt Day, an annual event celebrated in many countries around the world, it encourages people to talk about bullying and take action against it.
This Pink Shirt Day, on Friday, May 22, New Zealanders are being asked to Speak Up. Stand Together and Stop Bullying.
PinkShirt Day has been celebrated in New Zealand since 2009, and each year, the event grows bigger and stronger, reaching more people with positive messages.
This year, the Mental Health Foundation, The Peace Foundation, Family Works, Youthline, InsideOUT Network Aotearoa, Rainbow Youth and the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association have come together to help organise and celebrate Pink Shirt Day.
Pink Shirt Day is about working together to prevent or stop bullying by celebrating people's difference and promoting positive relationships.
Pink Shirt Day began in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2007. A group of students decided to defend a kid who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. In a show of solidarity, many of his peers turned up to school the next day wearing pink shirts, and Pink Shirt Day was born. By wearing a pink shirt, people identify themselves as an ally. The pink shirt is a way of showing those being bullied that there are many people around who care. Click here for more information
Win: The Stratford Press has some great Pink Shirt Day goodies to give away, including wrist bands, pens and sticker sheets. Send in your photos of your workplace or school celebrating Pink Shirt Day to be in to win. Alternatively, if you are aged 16 or under, send us a picture, poem or letter telling us something about bullying. Maybe explain why it is wrong, tell us how people can help stop it or tell us why you care. We will publish some of the entries over the next few weeks.
