A Fermanagh pupil has been awarded first place in Northern Ireland for her Anti-Bullying Week poster design.

Five-year-old Tori Veitch from Maguiresbridge Primary School was announced the winner of the Primary P1 to P4 art category of the recent Anti-Bullying Week creative arts competition. In response to this year’s Anti-Bullying Week theme of respect, Tori created a colourful poster depicting what respect means to her.

Tori, along with other winners of the Northern Ireland wide competition, were announced recently at a special awards ceremony at Belfast Harbour Commissioners.

The annual creative arts competition played an important part of the Anti-Bullying Week initiative, which ran this year from November 12.

The campaign encourages children and young people to think about what respect means to them, what it feels like to be respected and how they show respect to others. The important initiative explores how respect for others can build an anti-bullying culture in local schools and communities.

Anti-Bullying Week is coordinated by Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum (NIABF) and is supported by Translink. NIABF is an interagency group hosted by the National Children's Bureau (NCB) and funded by the Department of Education.

Chair of the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum (NIABF), Gillian Cuthbert, said: “Anti-Bullying Week, and more specifically the creative arts competition, provides an important way of highlighting the issue of bullying to schools and the wider community. It helps students to understand the nature and complexities of bullying behaviours and explore ways of promoting the positive messages of anti-bullying.”

She continued: “We have been overwhelmed at the quality of the competition entries this year and the powerful anti-bullying messages that young people have created through the media of art and movie/performance in line with this year’s theme of respect. All of the young people who took part should be congratulated for the fantastic anti-bullying work they created.”

The Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum (NIABF) is a network of statutory and non-statutory organisations working together to deliver consistent anti-bullying messages for children and young people. NIABF is convened by the National Children's Bureau (NCB) NI and funded by the Department of Education.