The Bridging Voices in Our Community Bullying Prevention Project Conference will have a keynote speaker on the psychology of hope and its influence on bullied individuals at 9 a.m. Friday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Grand Ballroom.

This year’s conference theme is “A Time for Prevention and Intervention: Renewing Hope in Education.”

According to Eastern’s BVC registration website, the conference “unites living and learning communities in an effort to promote bullying prevention.”

Allan Beane, founder of the Bullying Prevention Program, will be speaking on how to bring hope to people who have been bullied.

He will also be sharing his son’s experience with bullying, and how it led to his loss of hope.

Beane is an internationally recognized speaker and author on bullying.

He has published six books on anti-bullying, served as a consultant in eight bullying lawsuits and been featured on various media outlets, according to the Bullying Prevention Program website.

Beane also has 36 years of experience in education as a teacher, vice president of a university, and as director of a school safety center, according to the website.

The purpose of the Bullying Prevention Program is to “promote a sense of belonging and acceptance of all individuals and to promote the Golden Rule,” by communicating the message to others through different mediums.

The program has been adopted by schools and districts throughout the United States, according to the website.

Beane will also be having an afternoon keynote address about mistakes that have been made with bullied individuals leading to their loss of hope, and how specific strategies can be used to reduce bullying and implement hope.

The afternoon address will be at 1 p.m. Friday in the Grand Ballroom.

Debby Hernandez can be reached at 581-2812 or dhernandez5@eiu.edu