Working together as the ''Bail On Bullying crew'', the school-age volunteers have developed a website resource for students, parents and teachers, and are planning other creative ways of addressing the problem.
Brin Norton-Poole (18) joined Bail On Bullying after attending a University of Otago Summer School theatre production of The Laramie Project, a play about the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.
A post-performance discussion with Dunedin Collaboration Against Family Violence anti-bullying project co-ordinator Tarn Felton convinced Brin he could offer something to the cause.
''Our current message is about turning bystanders into upstanders, which encourages people who witness bullying to stand up for other people and to get involved,'' Brin said.
''I'm also part of a theatre group which we hope will go around local schools, taking the anti-bullying messages to a younger audience.''
JJ Thompson (15), who is Brin's regular co-host on the radio show and also a member of the theatre group, said the ultimate goal was to prevent bullying, which started with raising awareness of how bullying affects young people.
''If you can't prevent bullying, you can at least make people aware of it. That is a good place to start,'' JJ said.
''With every radio show we've done so far, we've included a song that for us speaks out against bullying and gives people hope.''
Representatives from Dunedin-based organisations that offer support to young people affected by bullying had featured as interview guests on the radio show, which Brin found encouraging.
''It's cool to get more insight into how these agencies deal with bullying behaviour,'' he said.
''I've been bullied a lot in my life, so it's been really interesting to get an outside perspective.''
Bail On Bullying airs on Mondays at 5.30pm on OAR 105.4FM and 1575AM, and is broadcast live and podcast from www.oar.org.nz and iTunes.
By Jeff Harford, Community Liason, Oar FM.
