An award-winning youth speaker and author will discuss the scourge of cyberbullying at a digital leadership conference for young people this week.

A’ric Jackson, who was given the Best New Speaker award by the Chicago Chapter of Toastmasters in 2000, will join island experts as the keynote speaker to discuss the problems and opportunities that young people face in the digital age.

The free conference will be held at the Ruth Seaton James Centre and was organised by the Government’s Department of ICT Policy and Innovation.

The conference, called The Ripple Effect, was designed to look at how everything people do online can affect their future and the people around them.

Sloane Wilson, an acting junior analyst at the ICT department and lead presenter for its internet safety group Cybertips, said: “The aim of the conference remains to empower and protect Bermuda’s students using proven best practices and innovative programmes while focusing on the ever-changing digital landscape and its associated benefits and risks.”

Mr Jackson is the author of Five Things Your Guidance Counsellor Didn’t Tell You, and .

He was said to be “one of the brightest rising stars in the realm of influencing youth to transcend mediocrity” by John Alston, bestselling author of Stuff Happens (Then You Fix It).

Mr Jackson will discuss the impact that words and actions have on others.

Other speakers will include Latisha Burgess, the executive director for the Employee Assistance Programme; Kenten Trott, a police inspector; Juanae Crockwell, a community activist; Chardonae Rawlins, a student mental health worker; and Don Burgess, executive officer of the Media Council of Bermuda.

Other topics will include social media and mental health, digital resilience, internet law, parental responsibility and reporting online abuse.

The Student Digital Leadership Conference will be held on Wednesday at Ruth Seaton James Auditorium from 8.30am to 3.30pm.

The Community Digital Leadership Conference, aimed at parents, guardians and teachers, will run from 6pm to 8pm at the same venue.