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13 April 2012

Praise: Don't Just Stand By Competition


ReachOut.com and the Entertainment Software Association Foundation are teaming up to create a competition for young programmers to create tools that combat bullying, or more precisely that combat cyberbullying.  While I am not on Facebook (neither as Some Teacher nor by my legal name), I like the idea of young programmers working to empower other youth.  The structure of the goals for the apps appear to be well written:
  • A focus on people aged 14-24 who would be potential bystanders to cyberbullying in online spaces/communities
  • Empowers young people to want to make online spaces/communities more positive and safe for everyone
  • Specific call to action for potential bystanders
  • Focus on the positive, do not use negative language or triggering images depicting cyberbullying, self harm or suicide that could re-traumatize victims/surviviors
The prizes have both a cash component and mentorship from professional programmers.  That is a nice combination.  If you know high school age kids who might be interested, the main page for the contest is here.  I wish both ReachOut and the kids the best of luck ... they may well be helping themselves and saving lives.

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