With students now expected to spend more time using the Internet due to the education sector shifting into distance or online learning this school year, various stakeholders expressed concern on the dangers of cyberbullying. 

To help parents, teachers, as well as school officials and administrators deal with cyberbullying among other issues related to it, a webinar dubbed “Protecting the Youth from Cyberbullying” was organized by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation recently.

The webinar featured 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Kim Jong-ki of South Korea, founder of Blue Tree Foundation (BTF) which has been very active in promoting the protection of students against violence.

During the webinar, held via Zoom on July 29, Kim underscored the need for government, schools, teachers and parents to work together in addressing  cyberviolence specifically among the youth. 

“Cyberbullying is very severe and we have to take action to prevent it,” he said in Korean as translated by Lee Ji-sang who also serves as the BTF’s international manager.

Schools and teachers’ cooperation, Kim said, is crucial to prevent school violence. 

“We’re educating through teachers and it’s also important to concentrate on education not just inside the school but also in our homes,” he explained.

Kim, a highly successful businessman, lost his son to suicide in 1995. Since then, he has dedicated his life to spreading awareness on bullying while providing support to victims. 

He was bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his “quiet courage in transforming private grief” to protect Korea’s youth from bullying, which helped “transformed both policy and behaviors towards building a gentler, non-violent society.”