INDIANAPOLIS — Peace Learning Center (PLC), with support from the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addiction, will host Make Some Noise! Upstanders Unite Against Bullying on Friday, June 27th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Indianapolis at the Athenaeum. During this teen summit, PLC and other youth-serving organizations will celebrate and share youth voice through creative expression to unite and empower Indiana youth around the issues of bullying and peer mistreatment. The event, which includes breakfast and lunch, is free for Indiana youth ages 12-19 years old and their adult chaperones. Groups transporting youth to the event may request a transportation scholarship. Limited seats are available and registration is required. To register and learn more visit www.peacelearningcenter.org/makesomenoise.
“This event is designed to align with Peace Learning Center’s unique approach to bullying prevention which involves engaging entire schools and communities to create cultures of peace where differences are embraced, youth are given a voice, and everyone is able to coexist peacefully,” said Tim Nation, PLC co-founder and executive director.
During the event, youth will be connected with creative and inspiring ways to find their voice to speak out for themselves and others through art, music, theatre, spoken word, and creative expression. PLC will utilize a large-scale social norming survey when the event begins to gather same time feedback about the attendees’ perceptions and misperceptions regarding bullying, peer mistreatment, and other unhealthy behaviors. Social norming provides an opportunity to utilize positive peer pressure by identifying gaps between actual and perceived norms of behavior in a population and then educating students that, while they may believe most of their peers engage in unhealthy behaviors, in reality, most of their peers do not.
The ACT Out Ensemble, a socially conscious theater group, will set the stage for conversation with unique interactive performances that will help youth explore the issues of bullying and peer mistreatment from a new perspective. Throughout the day, PLC will focus on empowering youth to be upstanders who are willing to stand-up for those being targeted and demonstrate they do not tolerate peer mistreatment.
The day will be divided into two 50 minute sessions, with teens able to choose a morning and afternoon session. Each breakout will be creative and open for real communication, with the goal of having a product (such as a song, visual art, poem, or performance) to share with the larger group after lunch. Ken Johnson, motivational speaker and chaplain for the Indianapolis Colts, will share his perspective on bullying and peer abuse during lunch between the break-out sessions. The event will conclude with presentations from the youth about what they learned or created during their break-out sessions.