Gay rapper Qboy takes anti-homophobia message to Cardiff schools » Local Government » 24dash.com

A series of workshops to tackle the problem of homophobic bullying among young people will take place in Cardiff schools this month.

Students at Willows High, Llanrumney High and Rumney High will take part in workshops and watch theatre performances as part of an initiative to raise awareness of bullying and discrimination against minority groups.

Excellence Centre Wales, an organisation that gathers and shares excellence, information and good practice on equality and human rights as well as for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, has developed this exciting innovative training package to put strategies in place in schools to tackle homophobic bullying.

They have teamed up with gay rap artist QBoy to pilot the project in the Cardiff schools with a view to roll it out throughout the rest of Wales.

Rising star, rapper and DJ, QBoy speaks about his own experiences of homophobic bullying at school in his tracks and is committed to raising awareness of the issue.

He said: “When being bullied as a teenager never did I imagine it would play such an important part of my dream career of being a performer. It feels good to turn my unhappy experience into something positive and hopefully help other people going through similar experiences.

“I applaud the schools who are actively trying to combat and deal with the homophobia that is so evident in today's classrooms and playgrounds.
"Homophobia doesn't just affect those who are gay or perceived to be gay, it affects all of us and it is a problem we all need to help resolve. In the end, every one of us strives to live in a society which is happy and accepting of one another.”

This project in the latest initiative in Cardiff schools to tackle bullying and permit young people to progress in their education in a safe and supportive environment. The Council has a strategy – Bullying Matters – to guide schools in the development of their own anti-bullying policies and practices.

Last year, a group of young people in Cardiff established the annual Cardiff Stop Bullying Award to encourage and recognise schools that display good practice in dealing with all aspects of bullying.

The group highlighted schools that work towards creating a community of respect through running student listener groups, promoting respect in the curriculum and where the staff and students work together to stop bullying.

Federico Podeschi, Managing Director of the Excellence Centre Wales said: “We are extremely pleased to bring this opportunity to raise awareness around the human rights of LGBT people in education and to have had such great support from Cardiff Council and QBoy.

“A way to put a stop to bullying is not participating in such violations and doing as much as possible to stop others from perpetrating such acts.  All students and school staff, not just LGBT people, have a responsibility to protect the human rights of all students in schools. “