Local celebrities lend support for Derby school students White Ribbon Day campaign
Published: 23 November 2023
White Ribbon Day gives men and boys the chance to show their commitment to ending violence against women and girls.
A group of 8 male students from different secondary schools in Derby, including Derby's Youth Mayor, have come together to create a White Ribbon Day 2023 Campaign.
White Ribbon Day is an international day of awareness on 25 November, where men and boys show their commitment to ending violence against women and girls. This year’s theme is ‘Change the Story’.
An awareness video has been produced along with Derby Theatre, by young people, for young people to #ChangeTheStory. The campaign has received great support and the video features sportsmen from Derby County Football Club, Derbyshire County Cricket Club and local music artist Scriptz.
Derby's Youth Mayor, Munti (Muhammad Muntasir) said:
“The White Ribbon Campaign relates greatly towards my aim of community safety. Feedback raised by young people during my presentations at secondary schools shows that cases of violence amongst young people (especially young women) are still prevalent and require our urgent attention.
"I see the White Ribbon Campaign as a valuable step in the right direction, not just educating our young people on appropriate behaviour and language towards women but putting what they have learned into action - for everyone's benefit.”
The campaign has been led by Community Action Derby, the Derby Youth Alliance and the Voices in Action (ViA) Youth Council at Derby City Council.
Several secondary schools in Derby are also participating in raising awareness of White Ribbon Day during the week beginning 20 November 2023. This involves showing the White Ribbon campaign video and White Ribbon presentation to all year groups in form time or at school assemblies, male students and staff wearing white ribbons, fundraising for local women’s charities, and getting creative by designing giant white ribbons for a city-wide competition.