Oscar Tan has two loves – painting and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

He combined these two loves into a single art piece that earned him a spot in The International Association for Cultural Diplomacy’s ‘We Are the World Events’ Children’s Art Exhibition in Paris, France, last month.

Since 2018, over 5,000 children’s artworks from 41 countries have been featured in these exhibitions, held globally.

Oscar, now in Year 7 at Global Oak Tree Scholars (GOTS) International School, said he did not expect his painting, entitled ‘Stop Cyber Bullying’, to be chosen for the exhibition.

MY Art Studio submitted Oscar’s entry, and it earned the Golden Bear Award from the organisers.

“I painted what I felt was important,” said Oscar, who turns 13, on Feb 10. “I enjoy painting, and love the ICT studies at GOTS International School.

“Learning more about computers is one of my passions, but with social media being what it is these days, I felt I needed to do something to educate people about cyberbullying.”

Oscar is spot on with his observation as the Health Ministry released a study last May which showed one in five teenagers had bullied and harassed somebody through the internet, mobile phones, or other electronic devices.

The Institute for Public Health’s ‘National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS): Adolescent Health Survey (AHS) 2022’, which included 33,523 secondary school students between the ages of 13 and 17 as respondents, found that making offensive remarks (11.3 per cent), and spreading rumours about someone (6.9 per cent) were the most common forms of cyberbullying.

The study also showed teenagers had engaged in other forms of cyberbullying, including sharing, or the uploading of embarrassing pictures of other people (4.8 per cent), and threatening to harm someone online (2 per cent).

Oscar said he hoped his painting will help raise awareness among teenagers about the harmful effects of cyberbullying.

Having just completed his first year at GOTS International School, Oscar thanked his coaches for always encouraging, and giving him the artistic licence to express himself during lessons.

“Since switching to GOTS International School, I have become more confident. I have to thank the coaches and the school for this,” he said.

“The coaches always encourage and help me when I have difficulties. I love coming to school as I am happy here.

“I could not wait for the year-end holidays to end, so I could be back in school to see the coaches and be with my friends.”

To learn more about GOTS International School and our Definitely Different teaching methodology, call or WhatsApp our education consultants at +6010-295 6340/+6012-268 1293 or visit www.gots.edu.my.

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