By: Evan Brown

October is National Bullying Prevention and Awareness Month, part of the growing recognition of what has been labeled an epidemic by education and psychology professionals. From the success of the film “Bully” to the It Gets Better campaign to random acts of speaking out, the country is waking up to the damage caused when people become the targets of unchecked harassment and abuse.

The City of San Francisco is doing its part as well. This month, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is holding a “Bye Bye Bullying” video contest for middle and high school students. Each entrant (or team, which can have up to four students) can submit a 60-second video addressing themes such as “What Is Bullying?” and “The Effects of Bullying.” The submissions will be judged on criteria including creativity, positivity of message and effectiveness at promoting public awareness. Prizes will include an iPad, Giants tickets and more. Details about the contest are available on the Bye Bye Bullying contest page.

Incentivizing Civic Engagement

This contest is a good example of our city government using rewards to increase awareness of an important issue and to engage the youth to get involved in the conversation.

Can Government 2.0 include a reward-based structure to increase civic engagement? We here at Reset sure think so. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story.

The Bye Bye Bullying Video Contest is open until 11:59 pm on November 7, so if you are a student with something to say about bullying, don’t delay – sign up now.