IV. PROMOTING THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD Besides supervisory functions, the tasks of the Ombudsman for Children include promoting the rights of children and drawing attention to problems which are important for children. The following part contains an overview of the activities aimed at promoting the rights of the child during the reporting year: the events organised, the materials published, public addresses, training courses, lectures, articles, and other activities. 1. Informational brochure „Bullying-free School“ The Ombudsman for Children together with experts prepared an informational brochure „Bullying-free School“, containing practical advice for the prevention of bullying and resolving incidents of bullying for pupils, teachers and parents. For example, the part of the brochure intended for pupils contains advice for those being bullied as well as bullies. Teachers find advice on how to prevent bullying, how to create a positive atmosphere in a classroom and how to resolve incidents of bullying. Parents are given explanations on, for example, how to understand whether their child is being bullied or is a bully, and what to do in such situations. The authors of the brochure on bullying are Triin Kahre, head of the Estonian Association of School Psychologists, Ly Kasvandik, head of the Family Centre You and I, Jürgen Rakaselg, school safety expert at the Ministry of Education and Research, and Kristiina Treial, University of Tartu lecturer and chairman of the supervisory board of the Foundation Against Bullying. The informational brochure „Bullying-free School“ is available in an online version both in Estonian, English and Russian. 2. Conference „Bullying-free Education“ The Children’s Rights Department of the Chancellor’s Office in cooperation with the Estonian Union for Child Welfare organised a conference „Bullying-free Education” [Kiusamisvaba haridustee] on 2 April, introducing the existing programmes and materials for creating a bullying-free learning environment. The conference was opened by Her Royal Highness Danish Crown Princess Mary and the wife of the President of the Republic of Estonia Evelin Ilves. Presentations at the conference were delivered by recognised international experts Christina Salmivalli from Finland and Lars Stilling Netteberg from Denmark, as well as experts from Estonia: Margit Sutrop from the University of Tartu Centre for Ethics, Sirje Piht from Tallinn University Institute of Educational Sciences, and Kristiina Treial from the University of Tartu. Among the topics discussed was also the pilot project of the Foundation Against Bullying (KiVa) and the project of the Estonian Union for Child Welfare „Bullying-free kindergarten and school“. Heads of the school and the kindergarten participating in programmes against bullying shared their experiences at the conference. A joint debate was held on how a bullying-free study environment contributes to the pupils’ educational achievements and general well-being, and the participants exchanged experiences and jointly outlined future plans. 61