Every City Can Be A City Of Kindness

This past Sunday, our co-founder Lady Gaga asked 300 mayors to join us in our mission to create a kinder, braver world. Lady Gaga joined the Dalai Lama and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, to discuss the power of kindness and compassion.

To start the conversation, Lady Gaga and His Holiness The Dalai Lama met to have  a one-on-one conversation on the topics of kindness and compassion. They answered your questions about how we can help young people overcome depression, eating disorders, and other mental health crises. They discussed everything from meditation to connecting with the rest of humanity.

Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama then joined Phillip Anschutz from RAK on the main stage. Together, they talked about how we can overcome tragedy and the value in changing our perspective. If you missed their discussion you can watch their inspiring conversation here. And, you can see the highlights from the online conversation below.

Perhaps most importantly though, they called on all of us to join them in making every city a City of Kindness. Can you imagine what the world would be like if every city was a City of Kindness? We need your help to make this a reality! Tell your mayor you’re ready to help make your city a City of Kindness! 

Mental illnesses, unlike most physical illnesses, are often not visible to those who are not experiencing them. However, 1 in 5 young people between the ages of 13 and 18 experience a severe mental disorder during some point in their life. In addition, one third of students who are living with a mental illness will drop out of school before high school graduation.

Although these statistics show that there are many students living with mental health conditions, many feel as though mental health is not a priority in the classroom.  Students who are dealing with mental illnesses or disabilities often react to them in different ways, so it is important for educators to understand the warning signs of mental illness and to work with the students and parents to ensure that their child is receiving appropriate accommodations in order to succeed.

Some warning signs of mental illness include:

• Refusing to attend school
• Self harm or threats of self harm
• Abuse of alcohol or drugs
• Changes in sleeping or eating patterns
• Loss of interest in a preferred activity
• Drastic change in school performance

Educators play a powerful role in the lives of their students, it is important to have healthy communication in classrooms for students to discuss how they are feeling. Creating this open door for communication can help to increase awareness about mental health as well as to break the stigma surrounding these disorders.  If you are a teacher who is working with a student who is struggling with a mental illness, talk to your district’s child study team, or check out these great resources from MentalHealth.gov.

We are thrilled to announce that our co-founder, Lady Gaga, and His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama will be speaking at the Conference of Mayors this Sunday. Together, they’ll discuss the power of kindness and how we can make the world more compassionate. On Sunday, you can follow the conversation through #CityofKindness and #KindYouth.

Get all the details in the excerpt from the press release below!

The United States Conference Of Mayors 84th Annual Meeting | Sunday, June 26, 2016

Washington, D.C. – His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will address the nation’s mayors the morning of Sunday, June 26, 2016 at The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) 84th Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, IN. The Dalai Lama’s keynote remarks will focus on the global significance of building kind and compassionate cities through action at the local level. Following His Holiness’ presentation, the Dalai Lama will be joined by singer/songwriter, actress, and activist Lady Gaga for an onstage conversation, moderated by journalist Ann Curry, featuring a Q&A session with questions from mayors as well as young people from around the country.
The panel will be joined by businessman and philanthropist Philip Anschutz.

Under the leadership of USCM President Baltimore (MD) Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and host Indianapolis (IN) Mayor Joe Hogsett, nearly 300 of the nation’s mayors will meet in the swing state of Indiana for their Annual Meeting from June 24 – 27, 2016. During the Meeting, mayors will discuss a wide variety of priorities that contribute to the overall health of America’s cities, and consider and adopt the policy resolutions that guide the advocacy agenda of the organization.

Each of the Presidential candidates has been invited to address the meeting, and to discuss The 2016 Mayors’ Compact for a Better America: A Call to Action, which prioritizes urban issues, as well as their vision to strengthen the federal-local partnership and build strong cities and metro economies.

With more than 85% of people in the United States living in our nation’s cities and metro areas, mayors are convinced that despite their geographic location, cities large and small are plagued by many of the same challenges. As a result, and unlike other elected officials, mayors are often able to find common ground and work in a true spirit of bipartisanship.

The mayors will also release a new report with economic forecasts for all of the nation’s 363 metropolitan areas. In addition, USCM will give cash awards totaling more than $1 million to cities showcasing stellar best-practices in the areas of climate protection, community development, and college & career-readiness training.

WHO: The Dalai Lama & Lady Gaga to Address The U.S. Conference of Mayors 84th Annual Meeting
WHEN: Sunday, June 26, 2016 | 10:30a to 12n
WHERE: J.W. Marriott | Grand Ballroom 5/6 | 10 S. West St, Indianapolis, IN 46204 | 317-860-5800

Have you ever been bullied online? Even if you haven’t been the victim of online harassment, you probably know someone who has been. Online harassment is much more harmful than just words on a screen — it takes a serious emotional, mental, and physical toll. At Born this Way Foundation, we believe that has to change. No one should have to endure bullying, in-person or online.

At Code Conference earlier this month, our co-founder Cynthia Germanotta called for an end to cyberbullying. It will take hard work from everyone to end online harassment but it is achievable with your help.

Join us by taking the Hack Harassment pledge: http://www.hackharassment.com/pledge/

And, follow Hack Harassment on Twitter, @Hack_Harassment, and on Facebook to find more ways to get involved. Together, we can make the Internet a kinder, braver place.

Last week, we hosted a Twitter chat with the Committee for Children to spark further conversation on the importance of social and emotional learning. We were so encouraged by all the participation, we wanted to share the discussion with you!

If the Committee for Children (CFC) sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve been sharing their work all month. As one of our partners, we’ve been able to highlight CFC’s dedication to nurturing and celebrating all children through social and emotional learning, SEL.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning defines social and emotional learning as the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the following:

• Knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions
• Set and achieve positive goals
• Feel and show empathy for others
• Establish and maintain positive relationships
• Make responsible decisions

SEL programs focus on cultivating the best learning possible, by providing supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging, and meaningful. Beginning social and emotional awareness at a young age allows students to develop a sense of self, empathy, problem solving, and communication skills.

So how can we add more social and emotional learning into the classroom? Online tools and campaigns, like Facebook’s InspirED, give students and teachers resources they need to bring more SEL into the classroom. And, our #SELCHAT last week gave educators a chance to discuss how to improve our schools by focusing on emotions. In case you missed it, we’ve included a recap of our chat below.

Does your school include a SEL curriculum? We want to know about your experiences in school and at home — take our Born Brave Experiences survey and tell us!

And here’s what our online community had to say: