The American singer was brought here by the No Bullying Initiative Trust and held a series of anti-bullying roadshows in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay. O’Connor spoke at Glenfield College and Carmel College on Auckland’s North Shore on November 23 as part of her tour.
The tour aimed to increase awareness of bullying issues and reduce the stigma around bullying victims.
The founder of CG Talent, which manages O’Connor, Rick Galvin said the singer uses her platform to tell her story as a victim of bullying. O’Connor’s tour ran from November 16 till November 25 in New Zealand and were put on by the No Bullying Initiative Trust.
The trust promotes anti-bullying initiatives in schools, workplaces and communities through workshops, presentations and advocacy. Glenfield College principal CJ Healey said O’Connor’s visit promoted being proud of who you are, and the school also had a visit from rugby league player Shaun Johnson the day afterwards. Johnson spoke about striving to be the best you can be and overcoming challenges. Healey says the visits from the two stars were an opportunity to develop pro-social behaviours in the students.
“We believe it is critically important to educate our students how to be better people,” Healey said. “It is our responsibility to give them the tools to be able to do this.”