Win this contest by making your own anti-bullying emoji
Most young people know how they'd like to respond to teasing, harassment and abuse as a victim or bystander, but it's not always possible to act on those intentions.
That's why the I Am A Witness campaign debuted an anti-bullying emoji last year to help adolescents and teenager silently communicate that they won't tolerate cruel behavior.
Now the campaign has created a contest so people can take that signature emoji — an eye surrounded by a conversation bubble — and invent their own version of the graphic.
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The "Witness Creativity" challenge launched Wednesday with simple instructions: transform the campaign's symbol into something "beautiful" that calls out bullying. The contest also highlighted more than a dozen examples of emoji and artwork that demonstrate what judges are seeking in submissions.
"In the end, we just want to empower [teens] to take action ... to let the world know that when they see bullying it’s not cool, it’s not OK," says Hannah Blatt, campaign director at The Advertising Council, the nonprofit organization behind I Am A Witness.
The campaign is marking National Bullying Prevention Month with the emoji contest as well as a separate challenge on the music app musical.ly. Users can create a 15-second music video set to the song "Scars to Your Beautiful" by Alessia Cara.
The emoji contest, which concludes on Oct. 31, is open to anyone 13 and older. Participants can create an emoji, gif or illustration. For those who prefer to work with pen and paper or don't have full-time access to a computer, the contest has provided a printable pencil drawing of the eye emoji. Submissions, which must be uploaded digitally, can also be created using the Adobe Sketch app.
The winner will receive $3,000 and their design will appear in the I Am A Witness downloadable keyboard to be used alongside other anti-bullying emoji and stickers. Seven first-place awardees will get $1,000 each. Public voting on the eight finalists will begin on Nov. 10. The winner will be announced on Nov. 21.
Blatt says the contest is meant to be "peer-to-peer led" and inspire graphics that connect with teens.
"We want your interpretation," she says.
Topics Social Media
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
