Anti-Bullying/Peer education/MediationYoung Scots campaign against sectarianism
Winners of a Philip Lawrence Award
Target age: 16 - 19
Sectarian violence is an issue that often goes unheeded in Scotland. But the problem sometimes manifests itself through football.
When Mark Scott died as a result of a sectarian attack when he was returning from a match, school friends Cara Henderson, David Graham and Louise Cumming (all 19) formed Nil By Mouth, a project dedicated to wiping out bigotry in the sport.
The trio wrote their own social charter and have campaigned to highlight the issues surrounding sectarianism in Scotland. Fundraising by charity dinners and a sponsored walk resulted in an advertising campaign to oppose sectarianism in sensitive areas.
They negotiated the involvement of businesses, the council, and charity groups and, crucially of Celtic and Rangers football clubs themselves.
By bringing together both football clubs and the local authority, Nil By Mouth has achieved unprecedented results. "Both football clubs are now working together in a joint project to eradicate bigotry," reports David Watt, Celtic's social charter consultant. The clubs are working with young people from the city's schools to draw up a youth charter for Glasgow based upon Celtic FC's social charter."
This project has been recognised as having made significant advances in tackling an enduring and deep-rooted local concern.
(With thanks to Young People Now magazine January 2001 for permission to reprint parts of their article on Nil By Mouth)
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