Wall against violence: a recent campaign run by DOS
From the 20th to the 25th of April, OBESSU Member Organisation Dijaška organizacija Slovenije (School Student Organisation of Slovenia, DOS) organised a campaign in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, to raise awareness about different forms of violence and bullying that school students have to face. The project was also supported by the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor and Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković.
DOS has been fighting against violence and discrimination in all its different aspects over the last years by organising educational events and debates. Moreover, between 2008 and 2013, DOS implemented two national researches focusing on violence and bullying in secondary schools, recognising these two topics as serious problems in Slovenia.
According to the research ”No to violence”, many people recognise only physical violence and are not aware of other types of violence/bullying between school students such as homophobia, islamophobia and xenophobia. In this context and inspired by the outcomes of the recent OBESSU Study Session ”Deport Xenophobia from European Classrooms!’’, DOS has decided to focus even more on these topics, planning an action week against violence.
During this action week, outdoor events such as concerts, performances and literary evenings were organised in the capital of Slovenia, reaching a wider public. One of the highlights of the action week was the so called “wall against violence”: a ”wall” where students and passers-by were encoureged to leave an imprint of their hand. With this action, DOS activists wanted to tear down any wall symbolysing divisions among people and foster a society of tolerance and mutual respect.
Slovenian President Pahor and Ljubljana Mayor Janković were among the first people to leave their imprint on the wall, highlighting the importance of tolerance and anti-discrimination campaigns in the country. Furthermore, they stressed the need to foster these type of actions also in primary schools.
DOS expects the campaign will continue after this action week and encourages students to take action and spread the non-violence message in their schools.
Please find more details and pictures on DOS’s Facebook page. For other information please contact info@dijaska.org.
Written by Dijaška organizacija Slovenije (DOS)
