Take Action against Bullying! contest winners and new Interligne partner

Announcing the winners of the Grand Prix Desjardins

MONTREAL, Feb. 14, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Interligne announced the winning teams of its very first Take Action against Bullying! contest. The screenwriting contest challenged young people to come up with scripts that would help fight bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, with grand prizes awarded for the top 5 scripts.

Here are the winning teams:

• Dahlia Weladji, Kenza Chahidi, Sofia Lemaçon and Isabella Bezerra from École Louis-Philippe- Paré in Châteauguay for their script on the impact people who witness bullying can have
• Arianne Rocheleau, Angélick Meloche, Émilie Milliard and Mathieu St-Pierre-Quesnel from École Marc-Laflamme/Le Prélude in Pointe-aux-Trembles for their script on prejudice toward lesbian girls and women
• Anouck Prince, Sarah-Maude Veilleux and Naomi Veilleux from Maison des jeunes Les Pacifistes in Waterville for their script about a teen girl coming out as asexual to her parents
• Victoria Wutherich, Tengyi Xu, Victoria Opolot, Jinwen Zhang, Amelia Bautista and Federico Farman from Lower Canada College in Montreal for their script on the positive effects of support groups for youth
• Béatrice Tremblay, Lily-Mai Berthiaume Rattelade, Molly Collin and Émilie Théard from Collège Saint-Jean-Vianney in Montreal for their script about a teen being bullied on a sports team

Video announcing the winning teams (in french only) :  http://interligne.co/en/2019/02/contest/

Desjardins: Interligne's new youth services partner

Interligne also announced a new supporter of its services for 12- to 17-year-olds: Desjardins has come on board as the main partner for Interligne's youth services and the presenter of its GISA (Gender, Identity and Sexuality Alliances) program.

"If we want to enrich the lives of people and communities, we can start by embracing diversity in all its forms. We're very proud to be teaming up with Interligne to support their youth program. I know that together we can make a difference in our communities," said Simon Déry, leader of the LGBTQ+ committee at Desjardins and general manager of Caisse Desjardins du Lac des Deux-Montagnes.

"We're thrilled that Desjardins has agreed to partner with us to provide services for LGBTQ+ youth. Thanks to this partnership, Interligne can support the young people who reach out to us," said Pascal Vaillancourt, Interligne's executive director.

Interligne's youth services include the school agendas program, a text message helpline (launched in fall 2017), and the GISA program (launched in fall 2018). The GISA program provides tools and kits to help create welcoming and supportive spaces for LGBTQ+ students and their friends. More than 100 institutions?including institutions in 16 of Quebec's 17 administrative regions, New Brunswick, France and Belgium?have downloaded the GISA Starter Kit.

Grand Prix Desjardins

Thanks to the Grand Prix Desjardins, the winning teams will travel to Montreal?meals and accommodation included?to attend the video shoot for their script. "Not only will they get the chance to star in their own videos, but they'll also be coached by Interligne spokespersons Sophie Paradis and Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay. It will be a great experience and reward for doing such an outstanding job," said Déry.

The 3-minute videos will be filmed by a communications agency and used as part of an online awareness campaign in April 2019.

Contest jury members:

• Nicolas Ouellet, radio host and columnist, Interligne spokesperson
• Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, poet and actor, Interligne spokesperson
• Simon Boulerice, comedian, writer and playwright, Interligne spokesperson
• PL Cloutier, Youtuber
• Simon Déry, Leader of the Desjardins LGBTQ+ committee and general manager of Caisse Desjardins du Lac des Deux-Montagnes
• Pierre Couture, Phil Communications agency
• Pascal Vaillancourt, executive director at Interligne
• 2 Interligne counselors

For contest details, go to: http://agis.interligne.co/en/contest

About Interligne

Interligne provides grassroots support and information on sexual orientation and gender diversity. With free services available around the clock, Interligne offers support to LGBTQ+ people, their friends and family, and workers in the community, schools, the healthcare system and social services. Through outreach and awareness activities geared toward the general public, Interligne promotes greater openness to LGBTQ+ realities.

Bilingual 24/7 talk or text helpline: 1-888-505-1010 (toll-free)
Chat: http://interligne.co/en/chat
Website: http://interligne.co/en/

SOURCE Interligne