Successful Completion of ADO’s ‘The Hero’ Pilot Project

Successful Completion of ADO’s ‘The Hero’ Pilot Project

The Hero is a project, initiated by ADO Den Haag, that has been running since 1996 and aims to teach 12 years old kids about the importance of combating all forms of bullying, racism, discrimination and violence. The participants can become heroes by actively participating.

In the months of March and April, the 25-year-old ‘De Held’ project ‘new style’ was piloted in the 2021-22 season. Two schools participated, namely OBS Erasmus and Piramide College. On Monday 9 May (OBS Erasmus) and Thursday 19 May (Piramide College), it was time for two graduation ceremonies to round off a wonderful journey with the participants. During this ceremony, the youngsters also took part in the Anne Frank Foundation’s Fair Play workshop and were given a tour of the stadium of ‘Our Proud’.The pilot consisted of four individual lessons per school and, compared to the ‘old form’ of De Held, it provided more in-depth information on the topics mentioned above.

Lessons on bullying, discrimination and racism
The first lesson was about bullying and violence and during this lesson, the participants learned about what bullying actually is, what the difference is with teasing, what we mean by peer pressure, how to deal with this, how to stand up for yourself and who to talk to about this. In the second lesson, some forms of discrimination were discussed, including discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation and disabilities. Through pictures and some workshops, the students also got perspectives on how it would feel to be discriminated against.

The third lesson dealt with the topic of racism and focused on what racism actually is, what we mean by prejudice and stereotypes and why racism can be so hurtful. The last lesson also dealt with the subject of racism, but more from the point of view of gaining knowledge about other cultures. The five best-known world religions and the continents (including some countries that belong to them) were dealt with in this lesson.

The lessons consisted of some class parts, interspersed with workshops and visual material. At the end of each lesson, all pupils took part in a Kahoot quiz to test what they had learned about the different themes.

Closure in Cars Jeans Stadium
To conclude the series of lessons in a nice way, the participants of OBS Erasmus and Piramide College went to the Cars Jeans Stadium for a day full of activities. OBS Erasmus came to the stadium in the ADO-bus while for the Piramide College the ADO youth players Nick Broekhuizen and Jesse Reinders came to the Cars Jeans Stadium. In the stadium, the following activities were on the programme: the diploma presentation with photo opportunity, a tour of the stadium and the Fair Play game of the Anne Frank Foundation.

Fair Play
The game shows how behaviour can influence situations. The participants react to events involving discrimination. They take on the roles of perpetrator, spectator and helper, consciously or unconsciously. And that in turn triggers a reaction in the characters Julia, Ab and Remco in the game. On the basis of the norms and values that the pupils have learned during the lessons of ‘The Hero’, conscious choices are made.
This also applies to the card game with drawings of insulting remarks/ prejudices and discriminating situations. During the game, young people themselves determine how serious a certain situation is by putting the cards in order. It is all about what they themselves think. Through this exercise, they gain more insight into their own attitude and into the effect of statements on others. The game also gets the youngsters talking to each other.