Posts Tagged ‘Digital Responsibility’

2013 NO BULL Challenge promoting digital responsibility launched; Steve Harvey signs on as judge

Friday, December 14th, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO (PRBuzz.com) December 14, 2012 — The Great American NO BULL Challenge today launches its second annual global short film and Public Service Announcement competition for teens promoting digital responsibility and anti-bullying. TV personality Steve Harvey has joined the campaign as one of the judges.

Middle and high school students, ages 13-18, are eligible to compete by submitting videos on digital responsibility to www.nobullchallenge.org.
Formats include: 2-5 minute short films, and 30-60 second PSA’s–all dealing with digital responsibility. For the first time, there is a category for foreign short films and PSA’s. Videos may be uploaded from December 14, 2012 to April 29, 2013.

Prizes will include a mentorship by Emmy Award winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, video cameras, scholarships and a trip to the Sundance Film Festival, where the winning video will be submitted.

The NO BULL Challenge began as a fight against cyberbullying–a problem plaguing millions of teens and preteens. Today, it’s expanding to include other areas of digital responsibility, including: anti-bullying, online brand management, sexting awareness, and hate-speech awareness.

The NO BULL Challenge was founded by cyber safety expert and bestselling author, Shawn Edgington. “Our goal is to ensure that all middle and high school students from around the world have access to the NO BULL Challenge to help strengthen their digital responsibility skills using real life experiences, the power of their voice, and the magic of filmmaking,” commented Shawn Edgington.

Facebook and Twitter will play a key role in the 2013 campaign holding a teen “Hack-a-Vid”, next spring. Film industry experts, educators and social media experts will attend to offer advice to the young filmmakers for the creation of their PSA’s.

The public will vote on the videos in May and then a panel of experienced judges will determine winners from the top nominated videos. 2012 judges included Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Ann Shoket, Editor-In-Chief, Seventeen Magazine. Emmy award-winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, director of “BULLY” will return as a judge for the second year.

Zoe Oz, Nicole Edgington, Zack Veach, and Paige Logan continue in their roles as teen spokespeople for the NO BULL Challenge. Reformed bullies and 2012 NO BULL Nominees Scott Hannah and Tyler Gregory have joined the NO BULL’s National Spokespeople’s team for 2013.

About the Great American NO BULL Challenge and NO BULL Teen Video Awards:
The NO BULL Challenge and NO BULL Teen Video Awards promote digital responsibility, a positive school climate and social action using the power of music and filmmaking. The campaign’s national partners include, National Organization for Youth Safety, iSafe, FCCLA, 4-H, Bully The Movie and The Bully Project, HealthCorps, Project Change, Business Professionals of America, ADL, SADD, The California Endowment and GuestAssist Campus among others. The Great American NO BULL Challenge is a 501c3 organization.

About Shawn Edgington:
Shawn Edgington is the founder of the Great American NO BULL Challenge and the NO BULL Teen Video Awards. She is the President of the Cyber Safety Academy and the CEO of a national insurance company. A leading cyber-safety expert, Shawn is the author of the best selling book, “The Parent’s Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in the Digital World.”

Make a difference with NO BULL!

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Did you know one out of every four teenagers experiences some form of bullying? Even more staggering: 70 percent of students are targeted and taunted on the Internet. Chances are, you may have witnessed or experienced bullying yourself. Rest assured you’re not alone; in fact, three FFA members just like yourself tackled bullying by taking up a challenge head on – the Great American ‘No Bull’ Challenge.

Tyler Gregory, Scott Hannah and Zach Veach joined more than 25 million other middle and high school students by participating in the challenge, which is centered around using digital responsibility and social media to make a positive impact on bullying.

“Bullying just stops kids from wanting to chase their dreams,” says 18-year-old Veach, a professional race car driver who dropped out of public school because of the bullying he was facing.

“We’re here to make a change because it’s getting out of hand,” continued Veach. “Because I wasn’t on the football or baseball team, I was different. And different was bad.”

Gregory and Hannah have had their own encounters with bullying too. For Hannah, the issue hit home when his friends began to harass a close acquaintance of his from another school. Their experiences led the trio to learn more about the repercussions of bullying and enabled them to make a difference.

Now, all three are national spokesmen for the No Bull campaign and travel around to leadership organizations like the National FFA Organization to speak and inspire other students to consider the challenge for themselves.

“Everyone knows what bullying is, but no one wants to do anything about it,” said Gregory. “We’re challenging each and every one of you to take on No Bull. All you need is a camera and an idea.”

No Bull Challenge participants submit a short video or public service announcement elaborating on the topic of bullying. Fifty videos are selected and then narrowed down to the top 15 finalists who are invited to attend the Teen Video Awards in San Francisco. Additionally, contestants are eligible to win other prizes including laptops, a new camera and even college scholarships.

For more on how you can make a difference and join the No Bull Challenge, visit http://www.nobullchallenge.org.

A ”NO BULL” Challenge for schools: get, free anti-bullying lessons to students by Election Day

Monday, October 22nd, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO (PRBuzz.com) October 22, 2012 — The Great American NO BULL Challenge today issued a challenge to school districts across the country– to get the NO BULL Academy’s free anti-bullying programs into all 6-12 grade classrooms by Election Day. The web-based platform teaches students digital responsibility, while fostering a positive and safe school climate. The lesson plans are designed by experienced educators for teens, and include anti-bullying videos created by the award-winning teen filmmakers of the 2012 NO BULL Teen Video Awards.

Cyber safety expert, and Founder of the NO BULL Challenge, Shawn Edgington said,
“Education reform and budget shortfalls are being debated in races for local, state and national office. We are pleased to provide some help for budget-strapped school districts, with free programs for students and educators. Lessons in digital responsibility should not be overlooked. That is why I have set November 6th, Election Day, as a goal to get the NO BULL Academy’s free programming in classrooms from coast to coast.”

The Blue Valley School District in the Kansas City metro area was the first to introduce the NO BULL Academy to its students, during Kansas Bully Awareness Week in September. School administrator, Molly McNally, said, “teachers reported the best student-engaged conversations ever.” She added, “teachers really like the format.” McNally is the mother of two and her niece was, “bullied relentlessly” during middle school. Today in her position as a school administrator, she is making sure students and teachers are educated about what bullying really looks like, and that they are provided with tools to deal with this problem.

The Kansas teachers used a lesson plan created by Austin Barker, the winner of the NO BULL Teen Video Awards. Barker, now a college freshman, is continuing his work with the NO BULL Challenge as President of the Youth Advisory Council, and encourages students to get involved in the 2013 NO BULL Teen Video Awards. Barker said, “As advocates of anti-bullying we hope to bring peace, understanding, and awareness of an evolving generation of bullying to students and educators across the United States. We have done this in a way not seen or experienced before; through the eyes of victims of bullying, and the vision of the students of America. The NO BULL Academy in coordination with the Great American NO BULL Challenge allows students across the country to unite against bullying and truly become a NO BULL NATION. We believe that even though you are in a place of darkness, you can still find light, because you’re not alone, and there is a better day coming.”

Barker joins Edgington in her challenge to schools to take advantage of what the NO BULL Academy offers for free, thanks to donations by its sponsors.

About the Great American NO BULL Challenge and NO BULL Teen Video Awards:
The NO BULL Challenge and NO BULL Teen Video Awards promote social responsibility, a positive school climate and social action using the power of music and film. The campaign’s national partners include, National Organization for Youth Safety, iSafe, FCCLA, 4-H, Bully The Movie and The Bully Project, HealthCorps, Project Change, Business Professionals of America, SADD, The California Endowment, among others.

About Shawn Edgington:
Shawn Edgington is the founder of the Great American NO BULL Challenge and the NO BULL Teen Video Awards. She is the President of the Cyber Safety Academy and the CEO of a national insurance company. A leading cyber safety expert, Shawn is the author of the best selling book, “The Parent’s Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in the Digital World.”

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