Dear New Yorker,
With more and more young people using cellphones and other digital devices, bullying has spread from the classroom and schoolyard to the Internet, sometimes with devastating consequences.
In an effort to help protect students and their families from this type of bullying, last month the City Council co-hosted the City's first-ever "Cyberbullying Summit" at The Times Center in midtown Manhattan. The event brought together teens, parents, educators and dozens of experts from around the five boroughs to discuss ways to combat cyberbullying and promote responsible online behavior.
In case you missed it, you can watch the summit online here . We've also created a page on the City Council's website where you'll find important information about cyberbullying and how best to deal with it. To access, click here . And below are links to some of the press coverage on the event:
http://www.wor710.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5384510
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/panel-discussion-on-cyberbullying-20110718
http://nyconvergence.com/2011/07/new-york-city-holds-first-cyberbullying-summit.html
http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/jul/18/summit-combat-digital-bullies/
We'd like to thank the New York Times, Facebook, Microsoft, MTV, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Common Sense Media, WiredSafety, the United Federation of Teachers, and our partner youth organizations for all their help and participation putting this event together.
Cyber bullying can create a hostile learning environment for our children, and we'll continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight this and other types of bullying and harassment as best as we can.
If you have any questions about the summit and/or our anti-bullying efforts, please feel free to contact Nick Rolf in the Council's Community Outreach Unit at (212) 442-5765 or nrolf@council.nyc.gov . Or you can email us directly at speakerquinn@council.nyc.gov .
Thanks so much and enjoy the rest of your summer.
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
Robert Jackson
Chair, Education Committee
NYC Council
Lewis Fidler
Chair, Youth Services Committee
NYC Council
Fernando Cabrera
Chair, Technology Committee
NYC Council