A personal testimonial by a bullying victim and an explanatory video on various situations of school bullying have been selected as winners of the 2018 Dialoga Prize, awarded by ESADE Law School and the Association of Notaries of Catalonia, in collaboration with the Catalan Government’s Department of Education and Department of Justice. Nearly 400 high-school students presented submissions related to the fight against school bullying in this fifth edition of the competition, which focused on the theme of “Breaking the Silence Around Bullying: What Can We Do?”

“This year, we have passed the milestone of one thousand participants since the prize was first created,” commented Teresa Duplá, Director of ESADE’s Conflict Management Research Group. “We want to keep growing and are counting on all of you to help us make this happen. By sharing your vision of the world, you gave us a broad range of ideas and proposals on fostering mediation and combating bullying.” José Alberto Marín, Vice-Dean of the Association of Notaries of Catalonia, which co-organised the competition, commented: “We notaries are aware of the need to promote other means of solving conflicts besides litigation. We believe that initiatives like this award – which raises young people’s awareness and encourages them to get involved and show off their creativity – allow us to continue advancing in the field of mediation.”

The winners of this year’s Dialoga Prize – Blanca Baucells, a student at La Vall (Bellaterra), in the category of written submissions, and Carlos Casajuana, a student at La Miranda, in the audiovisual category – will receive a scholarship to attend ESADE Law School’s pre-university Summer Programme. Like last year, the Sarrià University Hall of Residence, a sponsor of this initiative, will cover housing costs for students who live outside of Barcelona. 

Since its creation five years ago, the Dialoga Prize had grown steadily in number of participants. The competition aims to foster a culture of mediation and negotiation in the classroom as an alternative conflict-resolution method. During the award ceremony yesterday at ESADEFORUM, the organisers announced next year’s theme, which dovetails with this year’s: “Faced with Bullying, Your Attitude is Key: How Can We Play an Active Role?”