An event focused on bullying at school was held by the Gabrovo Youth Centre and the Prevention and Information Centre at Gabrovo Municipality on the day of the pink t-shirt - 28 February. It was attended by young people and pedagogical advisors from all secondary schools and high schools in the city.
The discussion was built on a film based on a real case in which a boy was bullied mentally and physically by his classmates. Before watching the film, the young people were divided into three groups and debated on why in such a conflict they think it is better not to get involved, what it brings you to be in the leadership position of the one who sets the rules but is also in the role of the bully and what feelings the bullied student is experiencing. They then watched the film from three different parts of the room. At any point the young people could change their group, explaining why they were doing it, how the events in the film made them feel. How the parents and teachers felt about the conflict was also discussed, but what impressed them most was the behaviour of the group of students who watched impassively. It was brought up as a message that non-interference also supports violence because it legitimises these relationships as normal or encourages them.
The Pink Shirt Day initiative was started by two Canadian children in 2007. They witnessed older students bullying their friend for wearing a pink shirt. The boys bought fifty pink t-shirts, which they put on with their classmates as a show of support for the bullied kid. Since then, every last Wednesday of February, students from all over the world wear pink T-shirts as a gesture of protest against school violence. The day is accompanied by many initiatives for better understanding, tolerance and mutual help at school.
The initiative was celebrated in Bulgaria for the first time in 2012.
