Annsofi sings out against bullying

Annsofi sings out against bullying Press Releases: 29 January 2014

Artist Annsofi Pettersen became depressed and was on sick leave due to the cyber bullying that followed her X Factor success. Now she is fronting the anti-bullying campaign Use Your Head, which will be visiting more schools than ever in its tenth season.

Use Your Head is Norway's biggest anti-bullying campaign for children and young people. Telenor, the Norwegian Red Cross through Cross my heart, the Norwegian Media Authority, and Kids and Media are cooperating in the fight against cyber bullying through raising awareness of and providing education on the subject. The campaign comprises a nationwide tour of schools, with strong narratives that enhance dialogue between young people and adults.

New ambassador Annsofi Pettersen is this year's new Use Your Head ambassador. She became known to many when, as a 15 year old, she came third on the Norwegian version of the X Factor. But the sudden propulsion into the life of a celebrity was not all positive.

Standing on stage and singing was fantastic, but it was tough to go back to the hotel room at night and find 50 new hate messages on my mobile. Just because I'm musical doesn't make my skin any thicker. The messages made me feel like everyone hated me. In the end I became depressed and was off sick from school,' she says.

Today Annsofi is back at her upper secondary school and back on stage. As a Use Your Head ambassador she will use her voice to support other victims of bullying and in her song Don't slaughter me she sends a clear message to bullies:

It's so easy to send nasty messages using a mobile or the Internet, but please, stop, don't do it. I don't think you know how much damage you can do, but I've felt it throughout my body. Say something nice instead,' she encourages.

Records with a bitter aftertaste So far, over 450 schools have been visited by Use Your Head, and almost 140,000 pupils and 26,000 adults have improved their understanding of cyber bullying. During the spring of 2014, 58 schools will be visited by the tour, which is a new record.

It's great that more and more schools want to be visited by us, but talking about records in anti-bullying work leaves an aftertaste. The demand for the use Your Head concept shows that young people are struggling with bullying online and on their mobiles. After ten seasons on the road, I had hoped we would be out of a job soon. At the same time, the development shows that both schools and parents are addressing the problems, and that is extremely important,' says CEO of Telenor Norway, Berit Svendsen.

Facing the bullying problem This year's season kicks off on January 29th at Bj rnholt school in Oslo. This school has previously experienced challenges related to bullying but has seen good results thanks to targeted and long term work to ensure a good environment for students.

We think it's awesome to be hosting the first leg of this anniversary tour. We're working hard to ensure there is a good environment in the school, and we think it's very useful to get help from the use Your head campaign,' says Petter Yttereng, headteacher at Bj rnholt school.

Bullying still a problem

After ten seasons on the road the campaign has shown good results. Studies show that 6 out of 10 children who have participated in the campaign say they have been furnished with the knowledge they need to deal with bullying on their mobiles and on the Internet. But there are still many children and young people living with bullying in their day-to-day lives.

The number of children and young people experiencing bullying is too high, and from a vision zero perspective it always will be,' says Arnfinn Eide, project manager for the Norwegian Media Authority's Trygg bruk' project.

General Secretary of the Norwegian Red Cross, sne Havnelid, is also worried about bullying. She believes it is important that those who are bullied are not left alone with their painful feelings and thoughts.

We are in contact with many of those who are struggling with bullying, and we see how short the road to loneliness and psychological torment can be. We encourage young people to contact our counselling service Cross my Heart' so that we can comfort, inspire, and help. I am grateful that Annsofi come forward with her own story about being bullied. This way she highlights a very important, serious, and widespread issue. Bullying can affect everyone,' she says.

It is not just children and young people that the Use Your Head campaign wants to help. The number of parents attending the parental presentations last year was at a record high. This shows that parents want more knowledge about how they can help their children. Use Your Head partner Kids and Media believes the key lies in good communication between children and adults.

The Bruk Hue tour promotes that parents should learn the same things as their children through the presentations. This makes it easier for parents to talk with their teenagers about relevant issues later on,' says Merethe Clausen Moe, General Manager at Kids and Media.

For further information, please contact:

Elisabeth Helgesen,

Head of Corporate Responsibility at Telenor Norway,

Tel.: 479 09 835,

Email: elisabeth.helgesen@telenor.com

Norwegian Red Cross Duty Press Officer,

Tel. 948 72 999,

Email: media@redcross.no

Arnfinn Eide,

Project Manager for the Norwegian Media Authority's Trygg bruk' project: arnfinn.eide@medietilsynet.no ,

Tel.: 924 25 050

Kjellaug Tonheim T nnesen, Advisor at Kids and Media,

Tel. 47474345,

Email: kjellaug@barnevakten.no

Also see www.brukhue.com for more information.

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