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Author:
Bejay Browne
A FLOWER festival will be held in Paphos tomorrow in aid of more than 550 families in need.The event is being organised by a group of local volunteers who have now officially registered as a charity with the name ‘Solidarity’.Ongoing fundraising events ...
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Author:
Peter Stevenson
THE TRIAL of the two Greek nationals, accused of murdering five people in Ayia Napa in June of last year, was offered testimony from the prosecution’s first witness yesterday. The two men, Demetris Mamalikopoulos, 29, and Anastasios Tsehilides, 41, are ...
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TOURISM could stimulate Cyprus’ struggling economy, the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) said yesterday during a high-profile visit geared at showing the world that Cyprus was open for business. “Travel and tourism can, and is one of the very few sectors that can, form a very bright future for Cyprus," UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai said during a Nicosia-based tourism event. But speaking of the here and now, Rifai said that Cyprus ...
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Cyprus Internet Directory
[
Special team to seek answers on youth violence
]
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Special team to seek answers on youth violence
THE EDUCATION Ministry yesterday announced the formation of an ad hoc committee of seven experts who will help tackle the problem of anti-social behaviour in schools.
It is thought that this is part of the social alliance against youth delinquency and hooliganism announced by the government this week.
“The antisocial behaviour of pupils over the past few years is changing both in frequency and in form,” the announcement reads.
“The committee’s principal priority will be to make proposals for practical measures which aim at the healthy psychosocial development of all pupils.”
It emphasises that antisocial behaviour cannot be eradicated from one moment to the next, nor can it be dealt with by a sole body.
“The society in its totality is summoned to action, to participate and to care about facing antisocial behaviour in schools.”
The committee members are Professor David Farrington of Cambridge, Professor Mika Fatourou of Aristotelio University in Thessaloniki, two local educational psychologists and two local educationalists who specialise in school violence.
The Chairman of the Committee is Andros Kapardis, a criminology professor at the University of Cyprus.
“I’ve agreed to chair it because the level of crime in society is what my area of expertise concerns itself with, and because I have been involved in a similar project with the Latsia Municipality for the past one and a half years,” Kapardis told the Cyprus Mail last night.
Kapardis elaborated on the Latsia project to cast light on what the committee hopes to achieve in practice.
“The juvenile delinquency prevention programme which has been implemented at Latsia is based on the ‘Communities That Care’ concept; there, it focused exclusively on Gymnasium pupils, aged between 12 and 15.
“The programme employs knowledge from criminology, then maps out the problem in the specific school, area and country and then launches an intervention programme.
“This is comprehensive and tackles the identified problem simultaneously on multiple levels: the individual, the family, the school and the community,” he added.
“This approach has proved to be successful in the past: we intend to cash in both on this success and on international expertise.”
Moreover, the programme did not limit itself to school hours, but extended into free-of-charge extra-curricular activities.
“These activities – presided by qualified trainers – are meant to be conducive to positively influencing the participants’ behaviour by passing on the right attitudes and making anti-social individuals pro-social,” he argued.
“In the case of Latsia, sports proved to be very popular. We offered them to all, thus avoiding stigmatising those who have delinquency issues.
“The aim is not to ostracise but to embed youths in the group and promote social cohesion – two normative goals espoused by the European Union as well,” Kapardis said.
But is this always enough?
“If the problem runs deeper in specific cases, then we involve educational psychologists who have the necessary expertise to deal with these in depth,” he replied.
Kapardis explained that at least a year has to pass before the results of the programme can be assessed, adding that it will not be implemented in all schools.
“We have to identify high risk schools and then decide on the nature of the programme within the constraints of the budget.
“However, the Minister of Education has promised me that he will do his utmost to facilitate our work.”
The criminology professor also called for media support.
“Unfortunately media spotlight often falls on extreme behaviours, thus spreading unnecessary panic. It is a minority who spoil things for the rest: they are killjoys.
“We have to be positive, and we need the media to be with us on this.”
Asked about the two non-Cypriot members of the committee, he said:
“I have collaborated with Farrington in the past, and I frequently keep in contact with him when I go to Cambridge as a Visiting Professor.
“He is one of the leading authorities in the field and he will be invaluable in constructing this programme and assessing its results.
“Fatourou’s background is pertinent to the work this committee is trying to do, and her knowledge of Greek society will prove useful since Cypriot and Greek societies are comparable.”
The committee will convene for the first time after the Easter holidays.
(Source: Cyprus Mail)
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