The Dolly’s Dream Foundation, established by the Territory couple in the wake of daughter Amy's death, has partnered with the NT Government and the Alannah & Madeline Foundation to deliver the Dolly’s Dream eSmart program.

It will be an expansion of a program delivered by the Alannah & Madeline Foundation in Victorian and Tasmanian government schools to give teachers, schools and parents tools and support to implement cultural change around bullying and cyber-bullying.

The Dolly’s Dream eSmart program includes:

Delivery of an eSmart Digital Licence, an eight module online safety tool for grade 3 to grade 6 students, which helps to keep children and young people smart, safe and responsible online in engaging and fun ways.

Implementation of Dolly’s Dream eSmart framework for 10 schools in up to two high priority regionsin select schools. The eSmart framework guides school communities to improve cyber safety, increase digital literacy and reduce cyber bullying.

Two parent, teacher and student Dolly’s Dream Connect workshops for 50 select NT Government schools in identified high priority regions. Dolly’s Dream Connect workshops inform schools, students, parents and communities about cyber safety and bullying, and its impact on children and young people.

Expansion of Dolly’s Dream workshops delivered to the Darwin and Katherine based STARS programs.

Since 2018, the Alannah & Madeline Foundation has been helping STARS deliver eSmart Digital Licence to 500 girls between Years 7 and 12 in Darwin and Katherine.

The objective is to educate vulnerable young Aboriginal girls to be safe and responsible online and to train STARS mentors to deal with online problems.

The Government has contributed $160,000 to the Dolly’s Dream eSmart program, with a further $80,000 coming from the Alannah and & Madeline Foundation.

Kate and Tick Everett were named the 2019 Local Heroes at this year’s Australia Day Awards for their campaign to raise awareness of the devastating effects of bullying and cyber-bullying.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said: “Every Territory child deserves to feel safe and welcome at school, in public places and online.

“Territory schools provide a range of programs, services and policy initiatives to prevent bullying and cyber-bullying and this new program, backed by the powerful and tragic story of Dolly Everett, will complement those initiatives and deliver the message that cyber-bullying is never on.

“Additionally, this year, for the first time this year, all Northern Territory Government schools have signed up to participate in the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, which will be held next Friday, March 15.”

Kate Everett said: “My husband Tick and I are so pleased to work with the government to ensure that our schools and school communities are safe places for children.

“The Dolly’s Dream eSmart tools work with schools to change their culture around bullying and online safety. The eSmart Digital Licence and eSmart Schools programs help to reduce cyber bullying and bullying and work to ensure students become smart, safe and responsible online.”

Alannah & Madeline Foundation CEO Lesley Podesta said: “The internet gives us great opportunities to learn and connect but we need to ensure students have the skills to be safe and confident. I congratulate the government on its forward thinking approach to digital safety for children and young people.”

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