Words Hurt campaign in Latvia

"Stulbenis - Words Hurt for a Lifetime" campaign's launch event took place on the 30th of September 2013 at the shopping mall "Riga Plaza", where a press conference was held with participation of the Minister of Welfare Ms.Ilze Vinkele, head of the children's rights inspectorate Ms. Laila Rieksta-Riekstina and a representative of Dardedze's partner crisis centre in Talsi. For this event a "wall of bad words" was created, and during the launching event the people passing by were invited to write a positive word and cover the bad word on a wall with the positive word they could call a child instead of a "moron". Also special "jingles" for the shopping mall were created and played during the launching week of the campaign, attracting the interest of parents. The campaign provoked heated debates and Dardedze was invited to participate in online and radio discussions. Many people were shocked that one of the most famous lullabies in Latvia had been chosen for the campaign, in which a word "child" had been replaced with a "moron". They felt offended and saw it as sort of ruining of their cultural heritage. Many parents also contacted Dardedze angry with the fact that their children heard the song on the radio and might use this kind of vocabulary in their language. It was a great opportunity to educate parents on the issue and make them reflect on their own actions and words they use with children. According to the omnibus survey one third of Latvia inhabitants (38%) noticed the campaign images and 83% of them acknowledged that such campaign was needed in Latvia.

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