San Francisco, California, Aug. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An app once considered “controversial” for incidents of bullying is now helping to find more effective ways to address cyberbullying. After School, the largest teen-focused social network in the U.S., and its partners iCanHelpline.org and #ICANHELP, will join together at the 2017 International Bullying Prevention Association (IBPA) Annual Conference in Nashville, TN to describe their collaborative efforts to counter cyberbullying.
Over 800 people will participate from around the globe in the three-day conference. “IBPA is one of the largest – I’ve heard the largest – bullying and cyberbullying prevention organizations in the world,” says iCanHelpline.org founder and executive director Anne Collier. “All the pieces of the positive-school-climate puzzle are there.”
The three organizations will host a workshop on “How Social Media, Organizations, and Schools Can Collaborate to Prevent Bullying.” The workshop session will highlight the importance of working together across institutional lines to prevent cyberbullying. “As a field and a society, we’ve come to see that it ‘takes a village’ to solve the public health problem of cyberbullying,” says Collier.
The conference presents an opportunity for diverse parties to come together — students, to teachers, to online safety experts — to present evidence-based strategies, research results, and views on best practices. “The social media industry is an important part of the village – part of the solution, not just the problem, as it’s so often represented in the news,” Collier states.
After School is the largest teen-focused social network in the U.S. with millions of active. After School uses anonymity to give teens an open space to share and connect with other teens in their school while using proactive moderation and safety features to create a positive environment. The app also provides access to Crisis Counselors through its partnership with Crisis Text Line and gives teens opportunities to get involved with social change campaigns through their partnership with DoSomething.org.
“We aim to give teens an open place to connect with their classmates,” says After School’s Jeff Collins. “Our safety policies and processes, like our Zero Tolerance Policy on Bullying and our proactive moderation, help create a safe space where everyone can enjoy the network.”
In January 2017, Collins and After School hosted the Social Media Safety in Schools event in San Francisco. The event was created to collaborate with industry experts, police, and school officials to prevent and minimize the impact of threats of school violence. The company will also host the second Social Media Safety in Schools even in January of 2018 to help prevent teen suicide using technology and social media platforms.
To learn more about After School’s safety efforts, visit the After School Safety Center. Learn more about and register for the IBPA Conference here.
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