The founding director of “Global to Local” Irina Alewert attended the 2023 World Anti-Bullying Forum in Raleigh, North Carolina October 25-27.

The forum drew nearly 600 attendees — youths, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, educators and other professionals — representing more than 30 countries. The forum’s opening ceremony featured remarks from Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Both spoke about the impact of bullying on young people and praised attendees’ commitment to preventing bullying.

A new definition of bullying was presented at the forum: “School bullying is a damaging social process that is characterized by an imbalance of power driven by social (societal) and institutional norms. It is often repeated and manifests as unwanted interpersonal behavior among students or school personnel that causes physical, social and emotional harm to the targeted individuals or groups and the wider school community.”

WABF was launched in 2017 by Friends, a Swedish nongovernmental organization that supplies adults with research-based tools to prevent bullying