ENACT Kicks off Cyber Bullying Summit 7/18

ENACT is proud to be kicking off the New York City Cyber Bullying Summit on July 18th, at TheTimesCenter, hosted by New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.

The summit is part of the effort to help parents and teachers combat bullying amongst kids in cyber space. The event will include representatives from the Department of Education, the Department of Youth and Community Development, the New York City's District Attorneys along with counselors and advocates for children. Cyber bullying and cyber safety expert, Parry Aftab, founder of Wired Safety.com and creator of CyberBullying.org will also participate in the event.

ENACT will jumpstart the summit with an original dramatic performance by students and professional actor-instructors, all from the ENACT programs. The short play explores some of the very serious emotional consequences of cyber-bullying, as well as the communication barriers that surround the issue.

"When we do a theatre piece, it is typically used as a vehicle to bring awareness to a difficult issue in a manner that is palatable for the audience," said Diana Feldman, Executive Director and Founder of ENACT, Inc., and the creator of the ENACT signature method. "Our plays create a launchpad for deeper discussions of these topics."

Sponsored by The New York Times Company, this educational event will bring together the world's renowned leaders in technology and internet safety. Facebook, Microsoft and MTV and others, will be on hand to educate parents on how to combat cyber-bullying, how they can better talk to their kids about responsible behavior online and the tools that are available to them.

For more information on the summit and to RSVP, visit the New York City Council's website at: http://council.nyc.gov/html/releases/052011cybersummit.shtml.

ENACT's mission is to help New York City public school students learn social and emotional skills through creative drama and drama therapy techniques. Since our inception in 1987, our corps of diverse teaching artists - experienced professional actors from theater, film, and television - has used guided role-play to enable young people to recognize, reflect on, and regulate their emotions and behavior in order to achieve productive and fulfilling lives. For more information, visit www.enact.org.