16-18 October 2017 Brussels, Belgium - Child Helpline ...
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16-18 October 2017 Brussels, Belgium Every child has a voice. We believe that no child should be left unheard. childhelplineinternational.org
Background
Child Helpline International hosts biennial Regional Consultations and biennial International
Consultations. Regional Consultations allow Child Helpline International and our members to
address strategic matters of interest to child helplines in the region. The Child Helpline
International network in Europe has benefitted from six previous Regional Consultations and two
previous Policy Dialogues. 2017 was the Seventh Regional Consultation and Third Policy
Dialogue to be held in Europe.
The Seventh Regional Consultation and Third Policy Dialogue took place on the 16th to 18th of
October 2017 at the Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie in Brussels, Belgium. The event represented an
opportunity for child helplines in Europe, from over 45 countries, to meet, deliberate, and share
experiences and good practices. In order to continuously advocate for better child protection
services and increase the recognition of children’s voices through strengthening the services of
child helplines, we focused our discussion on quality data, advocacy and partnership and the
situation of children in Europe. For this event we welcomed 65 participants from child helplines in
Europe, CSOs, Telecoms, INGOs, Government officials and others in Brussels1.
This year we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the European Directive allocating the 116 111
European harmonised number for child helplines. Together with Missing Children Europe, we
made this momentous occasion by hosting a joint event at the European Parliament wherein
members of the European Parliament, Child Helpline International and Missing Children Europe
showcased the milestones throughout the 10 years of existence of the 116 numbers and
discussed their future.
Our Third Policy Dialogue of European child helplines took place on October 18, 2017. Our focus
on this occasion was on existing and long-term partnerships that we and our European child
helpline members have built and nurtured with a variety of public and private organisations that
benefit both the child helplines and their audience: children and young people. Partners as
diverse as telecom operators, tech industry players, European institutions and NGO’s came
together to share their successes and lessons learned in their partnerships with child helplines,
and offer ideas and models to adapt these good practices in other national contexts.
Child Helpline International and our child helpline members have children at the core of our work.
Creating the space for children and young people to discuss the services of the child helplines
and share their experiences will add an important additional layer to the meeting. It furthermore
established a bridge between the child helplines and the target group of their services.
1
Please see Annex 3 for the signed list of attendants
2
Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org
Agenda
Seventh Regional Consultation of Child Helplines
Monday 16th of October 2017
Consulate and Embassy Room at the Thon Hotel Stephanie
12.30 – 13.30 Lunch at Thon Hotel Stephanie
13.30 – 14.00 Registration of Participants
14.00 – 15.15 Welcoming Remarks
Sheila Donovan – Supervisory Board – Child Helpline International
Child Helpline International Updates
Rasmus Kjeldahl – Borns Vilkar – Denmark – Regional Representative
for Europe
Lucija Fusic – Croatia and Heba Alibrahim – The Netherlands - #Youth
Quality and Assurance of Child Helplines Advisory Council – Helen
Mason – Child Helpline international
15.15 – 16.15 Quality Data
Impact Assessment Study: Results
Trine Sindahl – Borns Vilkar – Denmark
Sophie Dewarwaere – AWEL – Belgium
Willemijn van Dolen, University of Amsterdam
How to integrate new data categories: Peer Exchange Results
Rowena Ricalde – Child Helpline International
Merel Luichies – De Kindertelefoon – The Netherlands
Anamarija Vuic – Hrabri Telefon – Croatia
16.15 – 16.45 Coffee Break
16.45 – 17.45 Child Helpline International value for child helpline members
This session is reserved to Child Helpline International members only
19.00 – 20.30 Welcome Dinner at Le Chou de Bruxelles
Tuesday 17th of October 2017
Consulate Room at the Thon Hotel Stephanie
08.00 – 08.30 Registration of Participants
08.30 – 10.30 Child Helplines and the Sustainable Development Goals
M. Catherine Maternowska – The Global Partnership to End
Violence against Children
Child Helpline International and the SDGs
Jaap Doek – Chair of Child Helpline International
Helen Mason – Child Helpline International
The role of child helplines in advocating for child rights at national and
regional level: a comprehensive approach
Anamarija Vuic – Hrabri Telefon – Croatia – Deputy Regional
Representative for Europe and Member of the European Advocacy
Taskforce
Group discussion
Moderator: Sheila Donovan – Child Helpline International
10.30-11.00 Coffee Break
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org
11.00 – 12.00 Child helplines’ inclusive approach
Telenor: development of a training module on child online protection for
child helplines
Hristina Brdjovic – NADEL – Serbia
Zainab Hussaini-Siddiqui –Telenor
Denitsa Gancheva – Child Helpline International
UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): development of a training module on
Supporting Forcibly Displaced Children
Steina Bjorgvinsdottir – Child Protection Expert – UNHCR
Rowena Ricalde – Child Helpline International
Introduction to the Parallel Sessions
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch Break
13.00 – 14.15 Parallel Sessions on New Challenges faced by child helplines
1. Online radicalization 2. Digital 3. Vulnerable children
(Consulate Room) Transformation (Heyerdahl 3)
(Heyerdahl 1)
Rasmus Kjeldahl –
Borns Vilkar – Denmark Ulrika Eriksson – BRIS David Koren – ERAN –
– Sweden Israel
Carla Licciardello – ITU
14.15 – 14.30 Plenary Session: Sum-up of Parallel Session
Instructions on transfer to the European Parliament
14.30 – 15.00 Coffee Break
16.00 – 17.00 Participants to transfer to the European Parliament for the “Six Digits Worth
Remembering” event
Third Policy Dialogue of Child Helplines in Europe
Wednesday18th of October 2017
Consulate and Embassy Room at the Thon Hotel Stephanie
08.30 – 09.00 Registration of Participants
09.00 – 09.15 Official Opening
Margaret Tuite – Child Rights Coordinator – European Commission
Introduction of the topic: Enhancing Partnerships for 2018 to 2021
Helen Mason – Co-Chief Executive – Child Helpline International
09.15 – 10.45 Facilitator: Paul Gilligan – CEO at St. Patrick's Mental Health Services
Working together to reach vulnerable children
How can we reach and help more children? Partnerships at a global,
regional and national level are crucial. We will look at how partnerships have
enhanced our effectiveness. And because we wish to increase outreach to
vulnerable children and, specifically: LGBTQI children; children with
disabilities; and children on the move, we’ve come to the experts.
Panelists:
Jenny Jones – Public Policy Director – GSMA
Rasmus Kjeldahl – Regional Representative of child helplines in
Europe
Federica Toscano – Missing Children Europe
Simona Giarratano – Social Policy Officer – European Disability
Forum
Sophie Aujean – Senior Policy and Programmes Officer – ILGA
Europe
Questions and Answers
10.45 – 11.00 Closing Remarks
Helen Mason – Co-Chief Executive – Child Helpline International
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org
Summary of Sessions
Monday 16th of October 2017
Welcoming Remarks
The Regional Consultation was opened with welcoming remarks from Sheila Donovan, Child
Helpline International’s Supervisory Board member, who commended the significant work of all
child helplines in Europe and highlighted the importance of the child helpline network, which
brings them all together to discuss ideas and exchange practices.
Child Helpline International Updates
During the session, Child Helpline International shared its 2016 updates with the participants.
Rasmus Kjedahl, our Regional Representative for Europe, presented the regional updates,
highlighting the new members of the network and the 24 European Union (EU) Member States
running the harmonised 116111 number for child helplines.
Lucija Fusic and Heba Alibrahim members of the European Youth Advisory Council gave an
update on the work and projects of the #Youth in the past year and launched the Free Our Voices
multimedia toolkit, marking the successful end of the Free Our Voices international campaign.
Their participation in this session but also throughout the event, once more showcased our efforts
in being an inclusive organisation, listening to the voices of children and young people.
Helen Mason, Co-Chief Executive at Child Helpline International, informed the participants of the
newly formed Quality Assurance for Child Helplines Advisory Council (QACHAC). This Council
aims to establish Minimum Quality Standards for child helplines and to develop strategies to
support child helpline members to meet these standards. The first meeting of the QACHAC is
planned for early December 2017.
For the presentation on Child Helpline International Updates, please see this link.
Quality Data
Impact Assessment Study: Results
The Impact Assessment Study was developed to:
Measure the impact of each counselling session on the child
Measure the satisfaction from the call for both the child and the respective counsellor
Evaluate the counsellor approach to the call and learn from it
For this purpose, three questionnaires were developed: an end session and a follow-up
questionnaire for the children and an end session questionnaire for the counsellors.
Five child helplines participated in the initial stage of the study:
Awel (Belgium)
De Kindertelefoon (The Netherlands)
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org
Telefono Azzurro (Italy)
Borns Vilkar (Denmark)
Hrabri Telefon (Croatia)
A summary of the results showcased that:
67% of children feel helped immediately after they have contacted a child helplines
77% of children contacting a child helpline are satisfied with the service
54% of children still report positive impact two weeks after contacting a child helpline
68% of children contacting a child helpline feel an immediate improvement in well-being
80% of children contacting a child helpline feels heard by the helpline
Awel, the Belgium child helpline, shared insights on how the study was carried out in their
organisation. They pointed out that the study helped them recognise the significant work they do
in their local context, with 90% of children contacting Awel being satisfied with the service. The
child helpline is also already using these results when doing outreach.
The following steps in the Impact Assessment study will involve automating parts of the data
collection process, introducing comparisons between countries and including more correlations of
the results.
For the presentation on the Impact Assessment Study: Results at Child Helplines, please see the
following link.
How to integrate new data categories: Peer Exchange Results
The Peer Exchange took place in London on 8-9 June 2017 with the aim of introducing a new
data taxonomy on Child Online Protection, share good practices on introducing new data
categories to child helpline staff, and define a process to integrate new data categories.
The event focused on twelve data categories around issues of child online protection. The
discussions identified three steps for integrating new data categories by child helplines:
Decision making: are we going to include it or not?
Defining the terminology: what words with what definitions?
Implementation: how do we get the message across?
Following a summary of the event, two impact reports were presented to the participants of the
Regional Consultation by De Kindertelefoon from The Netherlands and Hrabri Telefon from
Croatia. In both cases, the first step carried out was to inform the counsellors on the new data
categories and train them on these. Most counsellors indicated that they were better equipped to
deal with these data categories following the training.
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org
Working on the vision and the procedure on how to When returning from the Peer Exchange, we
introduce new terminologies, we realised that we thought that it is important to educate our team
needed to review, improve and train our staff on and to convey them knowledge about adopting
terminologies and their definitions. A continuous new terminologies and incorporating them into
process of reviewing and improving the list of terms their daily work. The colleagues who attended
and definitions must be established so there is also the Peer Exchange held the presentation to
a way to introduce new terms if needed. The other Brave Phone employees and arranged
process included theoretical research (dictionaries the materials to understand the topic. It was
etc.) and development of a list of synonyms for the really important to us to decide together which
terminologies that are to be included in our steps we would take to apply new knowledge
registration system, in order to help volunteers to on our helpline and counsellors in a way that is
quickly find the right terminology. Both lists were useful to them and that includes new
reviewed by the Quality Assurance officer and the knowledge about their needs on the child
data analyst, as well as by two other trainers and helpline. What is important to us here is that
another volunteer. The new list is included in the we truly understand the new terminology but
registration e-learning, so that volunteers get to also the benefits of adopting them. We also
know the definitions and practice selecting the right wanted to include them in the brainstorming
terminologies for real-life cases. The list is included process and a specific strategic plan on how to
in our knowledge base and it was communicated to use the acquired knowledge in all ways to
all the volunteers via our national digital platform. improve our services, to educate volunteers
The trainers and volunteers involved were happy and improve their competencies, to raise
that we are working on this issue. Other paid staff public awareness, as well as work on
stressed the importance of this topic, including our prevention rather than just consequences.
communication officer and our director. They need Hrabri Phone
the data to be correct in order to communicate the
right conclusions to external stakeholders.
Developing and training shared definitions is an
important step.
De Kindertelefoon
For the presentation on the Peer Exchange Results, please see the following link.
Child Helpline International value for child helpline members
The session covered updates on Child Helpline International’s governance, the Framework
Partnership Agreement 2018-2021 with the European Commission, the new branding, the 2017
data publication, the way of communicating among members and the new General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will enter into force in all EU Member States in May 2018.
Accordingly, Child Helpline International is changing in order to:
Increase opportunities for child helplines’ staff to take part in knowledge sharing activities
Increase thematic expertise beyond geographical boundaries
Increase youth participation
Strengthen the relation with partners
During this session, Child Helpline International also launched its latest publication “Voices of
Children and Young People in Europe”, which features a Looking Back section on the last 10
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org
years of operation of 116 111 number and a Looking Forward section, entirely dedicated to the
voices of our European #Youth members. For this publication our #Youth contributed with three
chapters on topics which concern them and which they would like to raise awareness on, namely
gender equality, child online protection and children on the move.
For the presentation on the Child Helpline International value for child helpline members, please
see this link.
Tuesday 17th of October 2017
Child Helplines and the Sustainable Development Goals
Day two of the Regional Consultation kicked off with the session on child helplines and the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Catherine Maternowska from the Secretariat of The Global Partnership to End Violence against
Children framed the discussion. Her presentation focused on the role of child helplines and data
that they collect, evidence and solutions when preventing violence against children. Violence is
the leading cause of injuries and death among children, while many of the surviving victims never
disclose their experiences. Therefore, the SDGs Agenda 2030 aims to end all forms of violence
against children.
The Global Partnership to End Violence against Children operates with the vision of creating a
world in which every child grows up free from violence, with specific goals to: build political will,
accelerate the action and strengthen collaboration.
The overarching approach to ending violence against children is through the promotion of the
INSPIRE tool which has seven strategies:
Implementation and enforcement of laws
Norms and values
Safe environments
Parent and caregiver support
Income and economic strengthening
Response and support services
Education and life skills
The importance of child helpline services in driving this change was also made visible. As a
baseline, there is a significant increase in the number of children using mobile devices from a very
early age. The data that child helplines collect could therefore contribute to stronger child
protection systems and improving programming.
For the presentation from the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, please see
this link.
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgChild Helpline International and the SDGs
Jaap Doek, Chair of the Child Helpline International Supervisory Board, focused specifically on
the role of child helplines in the SDGs.
Specific areas where child helplines can contribute to the agenda were identified:
Target 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
o Target 5.2: eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public
and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
o Target 5.3: eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage
and female genital mutilation
Target 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and
productive employment and decent work for all
o Target 8.7: take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end
modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of
the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and
by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
Target 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all
levels
o Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against
and torture of children
For the presentation on Child Helpline International and the SDGs, please see this link.
The role of child helplines in advocating for child rights at national and regional level: a
comprehensive approach
This session consisted of group work and a final central review focusing on:
What steps have child helplines taken at a national level to fight violence against
children? What are some good practices and lessons learnt?
How can we use child helpline data at a national, regional and global level to monitor the
SDGs?
How can you as child helplines ensure that the rights of vulnerable children are respected
and taken into account at national and regional level?
The group discussions raised a number of important topics, including:
The need for a common definition of violence
The collaboration between institutions and the police
The importance of working together the private sector, like Facebook, in creating
awareness raising
Child helplines’ inclusive approach I
Telenor: development of a training module on child online protection for child helplines
9
Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgThis presentation introduced the participants to an e-learning tool currently being developed by
Child Helpline International in partnership with Telenor, with input from child helpline members,
our #Youth members and other partners such as the London School of Economics and the Child
Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command.
The e-learning course will be on child online protection, with a specific focus on:
Victim reporting and support
Referrals to services for ongoing assistance
Prevention by helpline children and young people build digital life skills and resilience
The three training topics included in the course will be:
Cyberbullying
Inappropriate/illicit content
Child online sexual abuse.
These were chosen through an extensive survey conducted among child helpline members and
the #Youth.
The e-learning tool is expected to be launched in January 2018.
For the presentation on the project with Telenor: development of a training module on child online
protection for child helplines, please see this link.
Child helplines’ inclusive approach II
UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): development of a training module on Supporting
Forcibly Displaced Children
This presentation concerned the development of another training module, initiated by Child
Helpline International and supported by the UNHCR. The focus of this training tool is to assist
child helplines in supporting forcibly displaced children. This module aims to:
Increase the understanding of the issues faced by forcibly displaced
children
Improve the referral systems for forcibly displaced children
Initiate cross-cultural communication
Address the language barrier that sometimes exists between the
counsellor and the child calling
There are currently 21 child helplines involved in the project and two #Youth members. The
training module is expected to be pre-released for the assessment of counsellors in November
2017.
For the presentation on the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): development of a training
module on Supporting Forcibly Displaced Children, please see the following link.
10
Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgParallel Sessions on New Challenges faced by child helplines
The participants of the Regional Consultation were divided in three groups to discuss some of the
new challenges faced by child helplines. Each parallel session was facilitated by a child helpline.
The parallel sessions were the following:
Online radicalisation – facilitated by Rasmus Kjeldahl – Borns Vilkar – Denmark
Digital Transformation – facilitated by Ulrika Eriksson – BRIS – Sweden
And Carla Licciardello – International Telecomunication Unit (ITU)
Vulnerable children – facilitated by David Koren – ERAN – Israel
The Parallel Session One on online radicalisation was presented by Borns Vilkar (Denmark). The
child helpline is investigating the role of child helplines in preventing online radicalisation. The
reflection came from the case of a 15 year old Danish girl who was arrested in 2016 and
sentenced to 6 years of prison for planning a terrorist attack. During the investigation, it was
discovered that the young girl was fragile, unconfident and suffering from identity problems, victim
of social neglect resulting in her radicalisation in a short period of time (three months).
The child helpline started then to reflect on how this could be avoided, how the behaviour of the
girl could have been a cry for help and the search for a community to belong, and how the lack of
social intervention can lead to marginalisation that, in turn, can lead to radicalisation. In this
context, Borns Vilkar observed that children of ethnic minorities are underrepresented among the
children contacting the child helpline. Borns Vilkar is planning an in-depth analysis of the target
groups’ everyday life in terms of the awareness raising that needs to be done, help-seeking
possibilities and ways to encourage them to contact the child helpline child helpline. The analysis
will serve to: design and carry out a 3-years communication campaign targeting this group of
children and to develop methods at the child helpline, eventually mostly digitally, that match the
target groups help-seeking behaviours and needs.
For the presentation on Online radicalisation, please see this link.
The Parallel Session Two was on digital transformation which was presented by BRIS and the
ITU. BRIS, the child helpline from Sweden, delved into the work of their Online Support team as
they discussed various digital platforms for their two-year programme. An entirely new BRIS
website was developed in order to integrate all the digital platforms such as the app, email, time
booking (to book a phone call through the website), live chat, BRIS bot, BRIS play and the night-
time website (which includes tips for sleeping). In these digital platforms, BRIS focused on the
platform to be:
User-friendly
Anonymous
Safe and easy documented (for analysis purposes)
Adaptable to technology for mobile use.
The ITU presented on their efforts on child online protection which includes an online youth
consultation, “T-Study Group 17” where they develop standards for security and online safety,
and “Study Group 2” where they are working on the numbering of child helplines e.g. 116111 in
Europe.
11
Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgThe majority of the participants in this parallel session mentioned that they are developing their
own app for their child helpline and were interested how BRIS evaluates such service. Since the
BRIS app was only recently launched, they could not share yet its impact. Some participants
brought up the fact that children are ashamed if others see that there is a child helpline app on
their phone. Some solutions presented to this problem were: an app that disappears on the
mobile or a change of the name of the app (instead of the name of the child helpline).
De Kindertelefoon from The Netherlands shared that they have a think-tank in their country called
Brainbox wherein scholars and industry gather to know which current trend in technology the
children embrace.
For the presentation on Digital Transformation, please see this link for the BRIS
presentation and this link for the ITU presentation.
The Parallel Session Three was on the topic of vulnerable children and how child helplines can
better respond to their needs. ERAN, the child helpline from Israel, shared some practices on
their work to respond to an increasing population of children and young people trying to reach the
child helpline. ERAN runs a 24/7 but there is a big difficulty in making the night service available.
A solution that ERAN is exploring is opening a new branch in New York City, which will respond
to the calls from Israel. Thanks to the large Israeli population and the time difference there, this
will hopefully allow for ERAN to have 24/7 support for all children and young people, who want to
contact them.
This opened up a fruitful discussion on other possible services and other vulnerable children,
including children on the move, LGBTQI children and children with disabilities.
For the presentation on Vulnerable children, please see this link.
17 October 2017
Six Digits Worth Remembering
Child Helpline International and Missing Children Europe
European Parliament, JAN 6Q2
Summary of the sessions
Welcoming Address
MEP Caterina Chinnici, Co-Chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Rights of the
Child
In her welcoming speech, MEP Chinnici stressed the importance of child helplines and hotlines
for missing children in protecting children and promoting their rights. She also recognised that
child helplines provide a safe entry point to child protection system. Thanks to the data collected
every year, child helplines are able to single out the specific issues affecting children at national,
regional and global levels. Therefore, child helplines’ work and the data that they collect are very
important tools for policy and decision makers to shape child rights policies at national and
international level.
12
Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgMEP Chinnici made a call to guarantee and improve the 116 111 and 116 000 services in Europe:
Ensure that Member States, when assigning the numbers at national level check the
quality of the organisation and assign the number them to those providing the highest-
quality services
In order to ensure citizen’s accessibility to 116 000 and 116 111, it is also important that
Member States raise awareness on the harmonised European numbers
Given the crucial role played by child helplines, it is essential to ensure that children are
fully aware of the 116 111 number and are informed that they can contact the child
helpline for confidential support and advice. Therefore, Member States should broaden
their outreach campaigns to inform citizens not only about the existence of the numbers
but of the different services that they provide
Finally, Member States should allocate adequate resources to ensure the sustainability of
the organisations running the 116 000 and 116 111 services, as well as the quality and
professionalism of the services.
116 – 10 years on
Jaap Doek – Chair of the Child Helpline International Supervisory Board
In 2016 child helplines in Europe responded to more than three million contacts from children and
young people. Children contacted child helplines to mainly talk about psycho-social and mental
health issues, and issues related to peers’ relationships and family relations.
Given the fundamental role played by child helplines and hotlines for missing children in
protecting children, Mr. Doek echoed the call to action of MEP Chinnici. He highlighted the three
areas to focus on during the next years to guarantee and ameliorate such importance services for
the well-being of children:
The quality of the service to ensure that the numbers are assigned at national level to
professional organisations respecting minimum quality standards;
The sustainability and funding of the organisations running the child helplines and the
hotlines for missing children to ensure the continuation of the service and to enhance
innovative approach in protecting children and promoting child rights;
The awareness of the services, in order to guarantee that all children in Europe are aware
of the numbers and will call them when finding himself in a difficult situation.
Heidi De Pauw – Vice-President – Missing Children Europe
Hotlines for missing children gave response to over 1 million calls in the past 5 years providing
free, specialised, legal, administrative, psychological and social support to any parent or child
facing a situation of going missing. Hotlines work in close cooperation with law enforcement
authorities. The way in which hotlines work is indicative of the quality of the child protection
systems, of which both child helplines and hotlines should be integral part.
Within this context, Ms. De Pauw stressed that the most important lesson learned is that going
missing is, in the majority of cases, the result of underlying child protection problems. Seeing
hotlines and child helplines united in a joint event is a great step and sets the tone for the next ten
years ahead. Because indeed, if lessons were learned, just as many challenges remain and
require our joint and urgent action:
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org First, when a child goes missing, the support provided by hotlines needs to respond to the
highest service quality criteria. Authorities can support, by taking these quality criteria into
account when: assigning the number to an organisation rather than randomly responding
on a ‘first come first served’ basis; or assigning the number to a police unit without adding
resources needed to provide parents and children the comprehensive prevention and
aftercare support they need.
A second challenge relates to sustainability and funding – which, for the past years, has
been listed as the number one challenge faced by hotlines. Unless national governments
step up to this obligation, hotlines will continue to face closure, losing the precious know
how gained and relations established with those in need.
A third challenge relates to the persistent low awareness of the number which again,
member states can help resolve. Best practices exist, but are not implemented
systematically across the different Member States.
Lucija Fusic and Heba Ibrahim – #Youth – Child Helpline International
Lucija, member of the #youth since 2015 and counsellor at Brave Phone in Croatia, stressed the
importance of making the 116 111 operational in all EU Member States, to guarantee children the
access to a safe, unbiased and free service when in a difficult situation. Indeed, Lucija stressed
that being aware that a familiar service is available everywhere in Europe, help children in feeling
safe and “in control” of the situation they are living.
Following Lucija’s intervention, Heba, a Syrian young girl who arrived in The Netherlands in 2015
and new member of the #youth, discussed the importance of the child helplines from the
perspective of children who are forced to move. Heba mentioned that she was not aware of the
existence of child helplines and didn’t have a service available to turn to seek for advice or help.
Heba stressed the need to guarantee that migrant children are informed of the existence of the
116 111 as soon as they arrive in Europe, in order to benefit from the information and the
psychological support that child helplines can provide to children. Furthermore, Heba shared
some of her ideas on how to make the numbers more accessible, such as through: speed dial on
phones, an automated message informing about the number of the child helpline or an automatic
voice translation to let children speak their own language when seeking for help.
Edouard Blampain - Youth supported by a hotline for missing children
The video message of Edouard Blampain reported his story of runaway child and the support he
and his mother got from the Belgian hotline for missing children, Child Focus.
Speeches
MEP Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White
MEP Lopez-Isturiz highlighted that these kind of events are really important because they remind
politicians what they have to do and what are the priorities and the challenges. He continued
stressing that both child helplines and hotlines for missing children are confronted every day with
several difficulties, such as the lack of financial help, the lack of support and coordination with
other services within the child protection systems and sometimes a complicated bureaucracy.
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgMEP Lopez-Istiruz raised-awareness on the big challenge to which hotlines and child helplines
had to adapt during the last years: the technological revolution. New technologies do not only
provide new opportunities for children and young people, but also new risks of violation of their
rights. Accordingly, child helplines and hotlines had to adjust their services, not only to be
reachable through new channels, but also to better support children and young people facing
risks online.
Finally, the MEP called on policy and decision-makers to continue supporting services that are
promoting the rights of the child and protecting them from danger and harm, stressing that:
“Children are our legacy and we can judge a society by the way it treats its children”.
Closing Remarks
Vera Jourová, Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner
In her closing remarks, Commissioner Jourova recognised that speaking to a warm and friendly
person can be very helpful and sometimes it can be the only thing that one can do if in trouble.
The numbers of contact responded both by 116 111 and 116 000 numbers show that they have
become an integral part of the child protection system.
The Commissioner continued to explain that thanks to several EU laws, children are protected
2 3 4
when they are victims , when they are in conflict with the law , when they are migrating and when
5
they are abducted.
In conclusion, Commissioner Jourova stated that child helplines and hotlines and fulfil an
essential role and offer specialist and expert services and quoted the former Secretary-General of
the United Nations, Kofi Annan: "There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with
children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their
welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in
peace."
Wednesday18th of October 2017
Third Policy Dialogue of Child Helplines in Europe
Official Opening
The Policy Dialogue was opened by Margaret Tuite, Child Rights Coordinator at the European
Commission, addressing the audience by discussing the importance of having such a space for
child helplines and partners to get together and exchange practices. She commended the child
2
Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum
standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime
3
Directive (EU) 2016/800 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on procedural safeguards for
children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings
4
Communication 2017/211 from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Protection of
Children in migration
5
Council Regulation 2201/2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in
matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orghelplines for their dedication and sincere efforts in improving the lives of children and young
people. Ms. Tuite also stressed that child helplines are integral elements of the child protection
systems and highlighted the power of their data collection in picturing the children’ situation at
national level and influence the policy making. In 2016 child helpline data highlighted the gaps on
mental health services and early interventions, given that the main reason to contact child
helplines was related to psycho-social and mental health.
Finally, the child rights Coordinator highlighted the fact that child helplines and hotlines are
explicitly referenced in some funding calls of the European Commission, thus encouraging the
interested child helplines to consider applying for financial support.
Third Policy Dialogue of Child Helplines in Europe
Enhancing Partnerships for 2018 to 2021
The panel was introduce by Child Helpline International’s Co-Chief Executive, Helen Mason:
Helen spoke on the power of partnerships among organisations with joint aims and missions and
introduced the panellists.
Third Policy Dialogue of Child Helplines in Europe
Panel Discussion: Working together to reach vulnerable children
The panel discussion was facilitated by Paul Gilligan, CEO at St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services
in Ireland and included the following panellists:
Jenny Jones – Public Policy Director – The GSM Association (GSMA)
Rasmus Kjeldahl – Regional Representative of child helplines in Europe
Federica Toscano – Missing Children Europe
Simona Giarratano – Social Policy Officer – European Disability Forum
Sophie Aujean – Senior Policy and Programmes Officer – International Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) Europe
After a round of introductions during which each panellist presented its organisation and main
priorities, following the questions of the moderator, the panellists went on to discuss some key
components for successful partnerships which will support Child Helpline International and its
child helpline members in reaching the most vulnerable children.
In discussing the main elements of a partnership, the panellists identified some common features
in their practices:
Define the nature and the strategy behind the building of a strong partnership
Identify the added value that partners can bring to your work
Avoid duplication of existing partnerships efforts and priorities
As an example, Sophie (ILGA Europe) mentioned that her participation in Child Helpline
International’s Policy Dialogue was the direct and first result of a meeting ILGA convened at the
beginning of 2017 to meet with child rights organisations and identify common grounds for action
to support LGBTI children.
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgAlways on building valuable partnerships, Jenny (GSMA) highlighted some good practices to
build a working relation with telecom providers: find a champion, empower that champion, build
trust and start the dialogue, eventually using as entry-point an easy to achieve goal and build
from there.
Intervening from the floor, Ann-Marie (ISPCC, Ireland), added on the building of partnership from
the perspective of child helplines and mentioned their partnership with Vodafone which, aside
from the financial and call costs, is supporting the child helpline in upgrading the technology
platforms.
Finally, the panellist focused on youth participation, highlighting the need of involving children and
young people in the decision and policy-making, in order to be more effective and to respond to
their needs.
Simona (European Disability Forum) mentioned that they work with a youth committee composed
of children with disabilities, while Rasmus (Borns Vilkar) highlighted that the Danish child helpline
is increasingly involving children in projects design, advocacy and communication campaigns.
Annexes
1. Link to Presentations
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q2rtshr1dleha7q/AADaiwpaNjip4LhTnvTQEyX4a?dl=0
2. Pictures
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w515ywieiugqig9/AABEw1QdEJzg8PGa1lXs9xr-a?dl=0
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgAnnex 2 – Pictures
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.org19 Every child has a voice. We believe that no child should be left unheard. childhelplineinternational.org
20 Every child has a voice. We believe that no child should be left unheard. childhelplineinternational.org
21 Every child has a voice. We believe that no child should be left unheard. childhelplineinternational.org
Annex 3
List of participants
Surname Name Organisation Country Email Address
Child Helpline The
Alibrahim Heba Hebaebrahem17@gmail.com
International Netherlands
ASTRA - Anti trafficking
Andjelkovic Marija Serbia am@astra.rs
action
Aujean Sophie ILGA-Europe Belgium Sophie@ilga-europe.org
Baranyai Blanka Kèk Vonal Hungary blanka.baranyai@kek-vonal.hu
Fundación ANAR/
Bartolomé Sonsoles Spain sbartolome@anar.org
Teléfono ANAR
Blain Violane SNATED ALLO 119 France vblain@allo119.gouv.fr
susannah.drury@missingpeople
Booker Susannah Missing People UK UK
.org.uk
ChildLine Serbia-Nadel
Brdjovic Hristina Serbia hristina.brdjovic@gmail.com
Serbia
Pro Juventute Beratung + Thomas.Brunner@projuventute
Brunner Thomas Switzerland
Hilfe 147 .ch
Caligari SOS Malta/Kellimni.com
Catherine Malta cathc@maltanet.net
Conti Malta
Hope for Children CRC
Chatzoudi Dialechti Cyprus chatzoudi.d@uncrcpc.org
Policy Center/ 116111
S.o.s. Il Telefono Azzurro
Corbetta Federica Italy federica.corbetta@azzurro.it
Onlus
Darsadze Nino Public Health Foundation Georgia n_darsadze@phf.org.ge
de Boer-
Maud Missing Children Europe Belgium maud.buquicchio@gmail.com
Buquicchio
De Pauw Heidi Child Focus Belgium heidi.depauw@childfocus.org
Devarwaer
Sofie AWEL Belgium sofie@awel.be
e
Child Helpline The sheila@childhelplineinternation
Donovan Sheila
International Netherlands al.org
Eriksson Ulrika BRIS Sweden Ulrika.eriksson@bris.se
Ernhagen
Silvia BRIS Sweden Silvia.ernhagen@bris.se
Sjoedahl
Terre des Hommes jessica.fiorelli@terredeshomm
Fiorelli Jessica Belgium
International Federation es.org
Child Helpline
Fusic Lucija Croatia lucyfusic@gmail.com
International
Child Helpline The denitsa@childhelplineinternatio
Gancheva Denitsa
International Netherlands nal.org
Giannopoul Konstanti
The Smile of the Child Greece directoroffice@hamogelo.gr
os nos
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgSt. Patrick’s Mental
Gilligan Paul Ireland pgilligan@stpatsmail.com
Health Services
Barbara
Gorges- KJT (Kanner-
Maria Luxembourg bgorgeswagner@kjt.lu
Wagner Jugendtelefon)
Katharina
KJT (Kanner-
Hartz Aline Luxembourg ahartz@kjt.lu
Jugendtelefon)
Mannerheim League for
Holappa Heidi Finland Heidi.holappa@mll.fi
Child Welfare
Jackson Natasha GSMA UK njackson@gsma.com
Joao
Maria SOS Crianca Portugal mjoaocosme@hotmail.com
Cosme
Jones Jenny GSMA UK jjones@gsma.com
National Child Hot Line/La
Kalashnyk Olga Ukraine kalashnyk@yahoo.com
Strada-Ukraine
Together for Children
Kamareta Sofia Greece coordinator@mazigiatopaidi.gr
11525 Helpline
Katwamba Mwansa LifeLine/Childline Zambia Zambia Katwambamwansa@yahoo.ca
Empowering Children
Foundation/ Helpline for
Kiciñska Lucyna Poland Lucyna.kicinska@fdds.pl
Children and Youth
116111
Kjeldahl Rasmus Borns Vilkar Denmar rk@bornsvilkar.dk
Kors på halsen –
Kongshaug Nelli Norwey Nelli.kongshaug@redcross.no
Norwegian Red Cross
ERAN Emotional First Aid
Koren David Israel david@eran.org.il
by Telephone & Internet
Krulić
Kristina CNZD Croatia kristina@cnzd.org
Kuzman
Krupcikova Gabriela Linka Detskej Istoty Slovakia gabika@ldi.sk
Margherit Child Helpline The margherita@childhelplineintern
Leone
a International Netherlands ational.org
International
Licciardello Carla Switzerland carla.licciardello@itu.int
Telecommunication Union
The Merel.luichies@kindertelefoon.
Luichies Merel De Kindertelefoon
Netherlands nl
Child Helpline The helen@childhelplineinternation
Mason Helen
International Netherlands al.org
Meulenstee The Levi.meulensteen@kindertelefo
Levi De Kindertelefoon
n Netherlands on.nl
NGO Lasten
Molander Helena perusoikeudet - Children Finland helena.molander@gmx.net
Fundamental Rights
The
Molendijk Martine IKO Centrum info@kinderontvoering.org
Netherlands
delphine.moralis@missingchildr
Moralis Delphine Missing Children Europe Belgium
eneurope.eu
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgFundación ANAR/
Moroder Silvia Spain presidencia@anar.org
Teléfono ANAR
Morton Chloe The Mix UK Chloe.morton@themix.org.uk
Slovenian Association of
Mrgole Albert Friends of Youth/ National Slovenia albert.mrgole@vezal.si
Network TOM
Florence
Nkhuwa Mwila Lifeline/Childline Zambia Zambia florence@lifelinezambia.org.zm
Chilesha
Pawley Nick EU Strategy Belgium nick.pawley@eustrategy.eu
Nummer gegen Kummer n.pirk@nummergegenkummer.
Pirk Nina Germany
e.V. de
nationalcentercoord@hamogel
Protosalti Piji The Smile of the Child Greece
o.gr
Rasmusse (Eles)
Børne Telefonen Denmark mras@bornsvilkar.dk
n Marianne
Child Helpline The rowena@childhelplineinternati
Ricalde Rowena
International Netherlands onal.org
Roger Michel SNATED ALLO 119 France mroger@giped.gouv.fr
Satke Birgit 147 Rat auf Draht Austria birgit.satke@rataufdraht.at
Nummer gegen Kummer r.schuetz@nummergegenkumm
Schütz Rainer Germany
e.V. er.de
Nummer gegen Kummer h.schuetz@nummergegenkum
Schütz Heidi Germany
e.V. mer.de
Ruth-
Sciberras Agenzija Appogg Malta Ruth-rose.sciberras@gov.mt
Rose
Zainab- Zainab-
Siddiqui Telenor Norway
Hussain Hussain.Siddiqui@telenor.com
Board member
Simões Alexandra Portugal simoesalexandra@hotmail.com
Missing Children Europe
Trine
Sindahl Borns Vilkar Denmark trine@bornsvilkar.dk
Natasja
Spillane Ann Marie ISPCC/Childline Ireland AMSpillane@ispcc.ie
Associatia Telefonul catalina.surcel@telefonulcopilul
Surcel Catalina Romania
Copilului ui.ro
christian.szabady@rataufdraht.
Szabady Christian 147 Rat auf Draht Austria
at
Kek Vonal Child Crisis
Taler Orsolya Hungary orsolya.taler@kek-vonal.hu
Foundation
The State Inspectorate for
Protection of Children` s
Vēja Amanda Latvia amanda.veja@bti.gov.lv
Rights / Child Helpline
116111
Venelinova Rossanka Nadja Centre Foundation Bulgaria centrenadja@abv.bg
Vervečkien Child Helpline Lithuania /
Dovile
Vaikų linija
Lithuania dovile@vaikulinija.lt
ė
Czech
Vojtíšková Anna SafetyLine / Linka bezpečí anna.vojtiskova@gmail.com
Republic
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Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgHrabri telefon (Brave
Vuic Anamarija Croatia anamarija@hrabritelefon.hr
Phone)
Witt Andrea Eurochild Belgium Andrea.Witt@eurochild.org
Czech
Začalová Pavla Cesta z krize, z. ů pavla.zacalova@cestazkrize.net
Republic
Zalović Tena CNZD Croatia tena@cnzd.org
25
Every child has a voice.
We believe that no child should be left unheard.
childhelplineinternational.orgYou can also read
