Charter « Green ribbon for respect ». Year 2007

Respect, violence, charter, green ribbon

School project

Pupils of secondary education

Four secondary schools of the city of Dinant

Belgium - Dinant

English

Teachers, Young People.

The four secondary schools of the city of Dinant : Athénée Royal Adolphe Sax, Communauté scolaire Libre Georges Cousot, Collège Notre-Dame de Bellevue, Institut technique de la Communauté française du Domaine d’Herbuchenne.

Initiative taken following two news items :

• in April 2006, a youth of Brussels was killed by another youth for a MP3 player;

in January 2007, the headmaster of one of the schools of Dinant, the Institut Cousot, was seriously attacked by a pupil.

The four schools reacted directly to the attack of the headmaster of the Institut Cousot : 16 pupils of the first class, supervised by 4 teachers, have revised a charter called “Green ribbon for respect” published in the Okapi magazine in 2001 (as a result of the “school of respect” campaign led in the French schools, with the support of UNICEF).

Respect of the word, the differences, the others, the living environment, the solidarity, the access of knowledge… The charter includes “ten commandments”.



According to the pupils who wrote this charter, the main message is « Less violence ».

The adoption of the charter comes with a sign of acknowledgement tied to the buttonhole, a “green ribbon”.

This initiative gave place to an “awareness day” in Dinant on the 1st March 2007, in the presence of the Minister of Education of the French Community of Belgium.

At the time of a short ceremony on the bridge of Dinant, the pupils of the schools of the city slipped their charter into a big bottle. When the Minister arrived, the pupils gave her the choice: to accept the charter and to work on it, or to throw it into the river Meuse, like sending a message in a bottle… The Minister accepted it. They also gave her a green ribbon. 

A debate between the pupils and the Minister has followed, as well as a work session with the schools headmasters.

The youths’ and their teachers’ claims were : better standards of supervision, a collaboration between the different services of youths supervision, more human means within schools and decompartmentalization of the information.

Charter « Green ribbon for respect »

Athénée Royal Adolphe Sax, Communauté scolaire libre Georges Cousot, Collège Notre-Dame de Bellevue, Institut technique de la Communauté française du Domaine d’Herbuchenne

1. 
   
   Word
   
   I express myself without fear, without vulgarity, without aggressiveness, without hurting the other.
   
   I communicate kindly and politely
   
   In the respect of the other’s word, I take time to listen to him/her
   
   
   


2. 
   
   Duty of word
   
   Indifference is a party to violence. I commit myself to breaking the code of silence if I am witness or victim of violent acts or manipulations.
   
   


3. 
   
   Access to knowledge School is a chance. I must keep it without wasting it. I give the best of myself and I make the needed choices to succeed in my work
   
   
   


4. 
   
   Differences
   
   I accept the other with his/her differences linked to religion, family, skin colour, physique, culture…. We are all equal deep inside.
   
   


5. 
   
   Self respect I manage my emotions, my problems and my conflicts through dialog without resorting to physical, verbal or mental violence.
   
   
   


6. 
   
   Living environment
   
   I respect all those who daily work for my welfare as well as the rooms and material put at my disposal
   
   
   


7. 
   
   Mutual respect
   
   Whatever my age, my physical and intellectual capacities, my office in the school are, I welcome and I respect the other as I ask him to welcome and to respect me.
   
   
   


8. 
   
   Aid and mutual aid
   
   In a spirit of solidarity and kindness, I help the others as far as I can.
   
   I ignore nobody. I ask the others to act in the same way with me.
   
   
   


9. 
   
   Honour, trust, conscience
   
   I commit myself to acting and speaking honestly in order to be acknowledged as a reliable person.
   
   I put my trust in the others carefully and consciously.
   
   
   


10. 
    
    Citizenship
    
    I defend myself without aggressiveness and by respecting the laws and rules. I am responsible of my own acts, choices and words in and outside school.
    
    At my level, I take part in the construction of a fair society where everyone finds his/her place and blossoms.
    
    
    
    

The Minister of Education did not refuse the invitation and the debate.

She explained: “One of the solutions to avoid experiencing such situations again is to reinforce the collaboration between the different services. I don’t want policemen within the schools, but I want to give the headmasters the possibility to speak with the police in order to work in collaboration”.

Classroom management, Whole-school anti-bullying policy, Cooperative group work.

Interesting initiative because of its symbols and of the invitation made to the Minister of Education. pages

Web site of the magazine Okapi and article about the Green ribbon operation.
http://www.okapi-jebouquine.com/ruban_vert/index.jsp

Martine PRIGNON

INFOREF

Projects realization