TELUS empowers Ontario youth to rise above cyberbullying
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 12:00 AM PDT
New program encourages youth to pause before posting or reacting online as part of TELUS' ongoing efforts to address cyberbullying.
TORONTO — TELUS announced the launch of a new program to combat cyberbullying in Ontario as part of TELUS' ongoing commitment to making the Internet a safer place for all Canadians. Throughout October, #RiseAbove school rallies will bring together students in grades 6 to 9 in Ottawa, Barrie and London. The rallies, to be hosted with recording artist Scott Helman and comedian Jackie Pirico, were developed in partnership with MediaSmarts and aim to help youth avoid situations that could lead to or exacerbate cyberbullying. The message is simple: taking just a moment to think before posting or reacting to content online can make a big – and positive – difference.
"Cyberbullying is a serious issue that affects 42 per cent of Canadian youth on a monthly basis ," says Nimmi Kanji, Director, TELUS WISE. "The online world is driven by fast clicks and quick decisions and almost half of teens say they have posted something online that they later regretted . By encouraging youth to pause and reflect before they post or comment, we hope to foster thoughtful and considerate digital citizens, now and into the future."
The interactive rallies will use role playing and real-life scenarios to demonstrate how taking time before acting or reacting can avoid escalating a situation to something more serious. Tactics include speaking with a trusted adult, calling Kid's Help Phone, or taking a break to reflect thoughtfully. It is relevant whether students find themselves as a target, witness or perpetrator of a cyberbullying situation.
TELUS WISE has found that youth are motivated to intervene when they witness cyberbullying, but would be more likely to do so if adults provided better guidance on managing interventions. Parents can learn more about supporting their children in dealing with cyberbullying by visiting telus.com/riseabove. Additional information and resources are also available at telus.com/wise.
These rallies are a part of TELUS' Internet and Smartphone Education (WISE) program, launched in 2013. TELUS WISE is an industry-leading educational program on Internet and smartphone safety that is available for free to all Canadians, with programming and resources available for kids, teens, parents, seniors and teachers.
As part of TELUS' long-time partnership with the WE Organization, TELUS and WE are helping drive awareness of cyberbullying leading up to and around WE Days across Canada in an effort to empower youth to combat online negativity and help youth #RiseAbove cyberbullying.
About TELUS TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is Canada's fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $13 billion of annual revenue and 12.8 million subscriber connections, including 8.7 million wireless subscribers, 1.7 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.3 million residential network access lines and 1.1 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video. TELUS is also Canada's largest healthcare IT provider, and TELUS International delivers business process solutions around the globe.
In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed over $482 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 7.7 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS' 12 Canadian community boards and 5 International boards have led the Company's support of grassroots charities and have contributed more than $60 million in support of 5,595 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.
For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.
Sacha Gudmundsson TELUS Social and Media Relations 647-472-8856 sacha.gudmundsson@telus.com