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RISE Against Bullying!
Who we are
We are the Design for Change Student Council, Batch of 2025 — a collective of dedicated young leaders from around the world, united in our commitment to creating positive change within our communities.
The Student Council serves as a meaningful platform for us to express their perspectives, ensuring that our ideas and voices contribute directly to the global I CAN movement. Through our initiatives and efforts, we strive to shape impactful stories of change that reflect the values and aspirations of the next generation.
What is RISE
RISE stands for Reflect, Interact, Share and Engage
RISE is a global, virtual, non-judgmental platform available for teenagers from all around the world to connect with other students and share experiences, thoughts, and feelings around one of the main worldwide problems nowadays: bullying, mental health, and wellbeing.
RISE is an invitation for those aged 11 to 17 who have experienced or witnessed bullying to REFLECT on the situation and their roles, and INTERACT with other students who have gone through similar situations. Through dialogue and creative platforms of exchange, you are invited to SHARE your experiences and perspectives, and finally, ENGAGE to forge strong bonds and design change around the issue.
Led by the Student Council Members of 2025, it brings DFC and the Student Council closer to every student, no matter where you are in the world, and offers a safe space to RISE your voices.
Our FIDS process
FEEL
Being treated as a taboo issue, talking about mental health or emotional expression is stigmatized as weakness. The truth is that many teenagers from around the world struggle with the feeling of being invisible or misunderstood, even when surrounded by others.
Through empathy mapping, where students who have faced difficult episodes were interviewed, various patterns and recurrent emotional pain were observed, outlining struggles such as unsafe school or domestic cultures, pressure to perform or conform, emotional masking, stigma around therapy or vulnerability, and the heartbreaking silence of bystanders.
IMAGINE
So we asked ourselves: “How might we break the silence around bullying, depression, and pressure and let students know they are not alone?”
Ideas like journaling, workshops, initiatives at schools, webpages, apps or artistic work were considered, but with collective brainstorming, there was an idea that managed to encapsulate it all:
“How might we create digital spaces that feel kind, real, and empowering?”
RISE appeared. We could offer teenagers who have seen bullying with their own eyes or have gone through states of emotional vulnerability, a digital and warm space to express their emotions and feel safe and listened to, while getting to know fellow students with shared experiences.
Tools like feedback forms, surveys, posters, and the webpage are being implemented as the communication and diffusion strategy, and the plan now continues in order to have more meetings, looking forward to the following one, on Saturday 8th of November.
DO
Hands-on work, we planned this platform that will be run through Zoom, created a website with information and awareness content, a poster, a survey form, and also a sign-up form to join the first meeting, which will be held on the 1st of November. The plan includes an introduction to bullying, kinds of bullying, its impact on individuals and communities, and the RISE initiative itself. There are three breakout rooms, where listening circles, journaling, and art creations are the designated paths towards the expression of feelings and emotions.
SHARE
After the first meeting of the initiative, held on the 1st of November with 15 participants from 4 countries, led and planned by SCMS, where exchange, reflection and creation were the spine of the session, lots of enriching perspectives and confidence were gained. Participants were guided through a process of ice-breaking games, an introduction to the RISE initiative, three breakout rooms with different activities that enabled attendants to express their feelings and open their hearts -“Listening circles”, “Journaling” and “HeART works”-, and a closing reflection on canalizing emotions and the importance of having a space to reflect, interact with people no matter their place in the world and reinforce the idea that we are not alone.
No events at the moment
Our Zoom calls
We will have 3 breakout sections for people to choose to join in.
HeART works
Listening circles
Journaling
A space to express feeling through art
A space where we all talk about our lives and reflect on them
A space to express feelings through writing
The students' testimonials
Helpful Videos
Helpful Videos
Have you just been bullied? You will feel better after watching this video.
Bullying scene 1 - Leaving people out
Bullying scene 2 - Cyber bullying
