In PROJECT ROCKIT workshops we learn from young people that bullying is complex and finding ways to stand up against bullying is difficult. For many, choosing to be an upstander for the first time is scary – you are putting yourself out there, risking a lot. And, doing something new is hard enough. Doing it while terrified of getting it wrong stops a lot of young people before they even begin.
1 in 3 students experience bullying at school. When we ask young people why they don’t put their hand up, share an idea, or try something creative to address it. The answer is almost always the same: fear of embarrassment, fear of repercussion. Not a lack of talent or ideas. But, worrying that you will be the next target. Also, we know that standing up once is not always enough, sometimes you have to try something, and when it doesn’t work, try something else.
That’s the gap we’re working to close - and why we’re excited to announce our new partnership with PILOT FriXion .
PILOT FriXion erasable pens are a favourite among stationery enthusiasts worldwide. On the surface, that’s a writing tool. But in the hands of a young person who’s been told that mistakes are shameful, it’s something else entirely. It becomes physical proof that you can try something, erase it, and try again. Our actions can be changed, we can try to address bullying over and over again, if we need to. And, bullies can erase their behaviours and change, and we can support them to do so.
That’s the idea behind Brave Beginnings: a collaboration we’ve built together that uses creativity as the way into conversations that actually matter. Confidence. Self-expression. Resilience. The courage to start even when you’re not sure how it ends.
Brave Beginnings isn’t a lecture. It’s a fundamental part of PROJECT ROCKIT’s workshop experiences. Workshops that are designed to shift culture, starting with how young people see themselves and each other. Our youth facilitators lead sessions that feel less like a lesson and more like an invitation: to participate, to mess up, to try again – and stand up against bullying, hate and prejudice.
Our partnership launches in July with a week-long activation at Westfield Parramatta - open activities, a creative wall where participants erase harmful language and rewrite it, and the PROJECT ROCKIT Presenting Team and Youth Collective members sharing their own brave beginnings.
Write, Erase, Rewrite.
It’s a simple idea. But for a generation growing up afraid of their first attempt, it might be exactly the permission they need.
Find out more about the partnership , or get in touch to bring PROJECT ROCKIT to your school