Bullying prevention project takes to the road

August 21st, 2015

The results of over a year of creating music to address the issue of bullying has culminated in a range of youth activities based around a regional concert tour.

For the last two years Community Youth Worker Paul Johnson, who works for SVS Living Safe in Motueka, has been managing "Equaliser - The Bullying Prevention Project".

Using music as the primary tool for working with young people, the project has engaged with well over 300 young people across the Nelson Tasman region. Youth have used their experiences with bullying as inspiration for writing songs and music.

The project currently has over 30 songs primarily written and recorded by young people, with the support of experienced youth workers and professional musicians. The music covers a vast range of genres included pop, country, hip hop, metal, folk, punk and rock.

The main message in regards to bullying prevention is the role of the "upstander", firstly encouraging young people to stand up for themselves and then for others. As Paul says, "We even encourage people to upstand towards the bullies, as we recognise they are people too and need help".

Over the past year the project has held 18 youth music workshops across Motueka, Richmond and Nelson, with young people composing computer-based beats and integrating their lyrics to create songs.

In addition to the workshops the project has recorded young musicians at NMIT's Creative industries with sound technician Geoffrey Douglas K, and at Levity Beet's Wild Beet Studio in Takaka.

This year a series of theatre sport workshops were delivered in Motueka Primary Schools in partnership with local youth theatre group Imagine Theatre, exploring the impacts of bullying and solutions to the issue.

A three-day Music Camp was held over Queen's Birthday Weekend at Tui Community in Golden Bay in partnership with Tracks and Tides (The Rites of Passage Foundation).

And the project has teamed up with Project Generation12 a faith-based initiative run by Patsy Burke to record a song, and worked with young people from Nelson and Motueka to storyboard, create and film an accompanying music video addressing the impacts of anti-social behaviours.

The songs can be found and heard , and will also be compiled onto a second print run of "Equaliser - The Bullying Prevention" Album CD.

Paul is ecstatic with the quality of the tracks produced. He explains that the name Equaliser is a play on words. "The name obviously has musical connotations, but it also has the word Equal in it as we believe if there is more equality there will be less bullying."

The album sleeve doubles as an educational resource, with important key messages about types of bullying, the impact of bullying and where to go to for help. The sleeve is being translated into Te Reo and the migrant languages of Nelson refugee populations, Chin and Zomi.

Equaliser events are scheduled across the top of the south with contributing artists performing and the showing of film clips from the project.

The first of those events is in Takaka, a school concert is planned on Friday 28th August at Takaka Primary from 1:00pm with Camp Bands performing. Then a public concert will be held on Saturday 29th August at the Village Theatre from 6pm -9pm featuring the Camp Song plus The Musical Vibes, The Bully-Free Zone, Charlotte Miller, Mudwood and The Hoard.

On Sunday September 6th Equaliser moves to Motueka with an event at Te Awhina Marae from 1pm - 6pm featuring Jahl Sahar, Tamai Rangi-Henry, Love Mafia, Taxi Collectivo, Rekindled Pursuit, Kapa Haka Groups and Pants Off.

Then on Friday September 11th the project visits the Johnny Cash Room at NMIT's Creative industries G Block from 7pm - 10:30pm featuring Indigo Levett, Love Mafia and The Dion's.

There will be free giveaways of promotion material available at the events. All events are free to attend and are alcohol free.

The Equaliser Bullying Prevention Project is part of the Government initiated Te Punanga Haumaru campaign through Family and Community Services (FACS), which provides funding to support communities in developing strategies to address antisocial bullying behaviours. The project is coordinated and managed locally by SVS - Living Safe.

To find out more on the project contact Paul Johnson via , or hone or .

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