| BY Ricki Green |PILOT Pen and PROJECT ROCKIT have partnered to launch Brave Beginnings, a new initiative aimed at helping erase bullying and giving young Australians the confidence to move forward from negative experiences and try again. Lack of confidence emerged as the biggest barrier holding Australians back (57.38%), followed by fear of judgement or embarrassment (38.95%) and past experiences of bullying or criticism (28.5%). Almost nine in 10 Australians (87.51%) also believe experiences of bullying or criticism in childhood can impact confidence later in life. Brave Beginnings launched with a week-long activation at Westfield Parramatta from 6 to 12 July, centred around an interactive Erase Bullying Wall. Participants were invited to use PILOT FriXion pens to erase negative messages displayed on the wall and replace them with words of encouragement, physically bringing the idea of erasing and rewriting to life.