THE IT GETS Better video project was launched in the US as a response to a string of suicides by teenagers who were bullied because they were gay.

In the past few months, at least seven American teenagers have taken their own lives after being bullied and harassed by homophobic peers. That list includes 18-year-old Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge outside New York, after fellow students allegedly posted a video of him having sex with a man on the internet.

The idea of the project, which was conceived by Seattle-based sex columnist, Dan Savage, is simple: point a camera at grown-ups (gay and straight) and listen as they tell you why they know life won’t always be this hard. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Perez Hilton and Savage himself all took part.

This contribution by employees of Google (even if they are slightly too pleased to be working at Google) is affecting – and effective.

Here’s US President Barack Obama remembering what it’s like to grow up “feeling you don’t belong”:

And here’s Savage’s own contribution to the project: