GROUND-BREAKING ANTI-BULLYING #BENICEBUS TOUR EXTENDED UNTIL 2020
The one of a kind educational bus – operated by Stagecoach and The Diana Award – is on a three-year tour of UK schools and has already spread its anti-bullying message to 28,000 young people.
31 August 2018
A ground-breaking anti-bullying bus tour encouraging thousands of young people across Britain to be nicer online has been extended until 2020. The news comes on the eve of The Diana Award’s annual #Back2School campaign.
The country’s first and only #BeNiceBus – launched by transport company Stagecoach and The Diana Award charity last year – is on a three-year tour of UK schools to spread its anti-cyber bullying message and encourage young people to be nicer online. The bus is currently spending two weeks in Scotland, visiting schools across the country including Dumfries, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
The #BeNiceBus arrives to deliver a session.
Over the past year the bus, which has been donated by Perth-based bus and rail operator Stagecoach, has run approximately 400 training events across the country as part of The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying campaign.
Through the innovative project, young people are invited on board the refurbished bus to take part in an interactive session to encourage positive online behaviour and to warn of the consequences of cyber bullying. They are also given advice on the steps to take if they are experiencing online bullying. More than 6,000 pupils have signed the project’s Be Nice Pledge following sessions on board the bus, with the project’s anti-bullying message being shared with more than 28,000 young people in total through a number of different resources.
The #BeNiceBus has also taken part in a number of high profile events across the country, including the Digital Kids Show in Manchester and The Diana Award’s flagship Stand Up To Bullying Day event in London.
The Diana Award runs the leading Anti-Bullying Campaign in the UK and Ireland giving young people the skills, confidence and training to tackle all forms of bullying as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. The charity was set up in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better. Today marks 21 years since the death of Princess Diana.
“At The Diana Award we know how powerful young people can be in tackling bullying behaviour both on and offline. We’re delighted to have the support of Stagecoach and to be running the country’s only anti-bullying #BeNiceBus. We are driving our message directly into schools, a place where young people spend 11,000 hours of their lives. Thanks to our partnership with Stagecoach we are taking even greater steps to change and shape attitudes and behaviour to bullying.”
Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award
A session underway on the #BeNiceBus.
“We’re delighted that the #BeNiceBus has had such a positive impact and been so well received by the school pupils it has visited across the country. We’re very proud to be part of this project and we’re delighted to able to support the bus tour for another two years.
“Millions of young people travel on our services every year and most spend a great deal of their time online these days, which means they have access to a wealth of information and opportunities but unfortunately it can also be another platform for bullying to take place. We hope our partnership with The Diana Award will help spread this important anti-bullying message and encourage us all to be kinder to each other online.”
Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, Martin Griffiths
