The light went out at Toni Martí Pavilion and, for a few seconds, silence prevailed and it was not just any scenic resource. It was a way of saying that what was coming it was not a match, nor a training session, but a necessary conversation. The MoraBanc Andorra turned the track into a space for reflection with the Defend respect day, coinciding tomorrow with World Day against bullying and harassment, and it did so by mobilizing 840 6th grade and 1st and 2nd secondary students from the country’s different educational systems.
The Toni Martí Pavilion hosted a day to raise awareness of school bullying.
“As a club we are very clear that we must raise our voice and take the opportunity to hold an awareness day”
The initiative did not only seek to impact, but also explain and name situations that are often diluted in the noise of everyday life. “We were very clear that as a club we had to raise our voices and use our loudspeaker to hold a day of reflection and awareness”, he explained Natàlia de Felipe, in charge of the club’s corporate social responsibility. Sport, in this case, as a platform to talk about what it costs. The message found voice in witnesses and professionals. One of the most striking was that of Brian Giner, social educator who was bullied for twelve years. “In my time there were no protocols and they were said to be children’s things. But it is not, and it has very serious consequences,” he warned. His story was not just about remembering, but also about remembering give tools: speak up, denounce, don’t keep silent. Silence, precisely, is one of the keys. Not only that of the sufferer, but also that of the observer. “What hurts the most is not only the insult, but that those who see it do nothing”, remembered Ginerfocusing on an often invisible role, that of witnesses. The day also delved into the cyberbullying, a reality that expands the limits of the problem. Ferran Jordan, agent of the technological crimes group, explained it with clarity: “It is not a single action, it is a set of actions repeated over time that seek to isolate the victim.” Messages, insults, manipulation of images or coordinated actions on networks. The risk, according to Jordan, is normalization. “We should not normalize insult or threat. Digital behavior should be the same as in real life.”
“In my time there were no protocols and it was always said that they were children’s things. And they weren’t”
In this process, sport appears as an educational space. Not just to compete, but for learn to live together. Values such as respect, la management of frustration or empathy are also built on the track.
“We must not normalize insult or threat. Digital behavior must be the same as real”
