Page not found, neither is Hannah
PRESS RELEASE
25 September 2018
Page not found, neither is Hannah
24 September 2018 - On 25 September, we launch the first annual #NotFoundDay. But what is Notfound? The Notfound.org web app converts useless 404 website error pages into posters of missing children. The ingenious web app was developed in 2012 by Missing Children Europe and Child Focus with the help of FamousGrey and has been downloaded by over 5,700 websites. The Smile of the Child, founding member of Missing Children Europe is partner of Notfound initiative along with other member Organizations from across Europe.
The aim of #NotFoundDay is to encourage website owners and companies to download this smart piece of technology to help find missing children in a very simple way.
“There are about 1.5 million websites in the world. On average, about 7% of visits to any given website reaches a 404 error page. If even 1% of these websites installed the Notfound.org app, imagine the endless possibilities to find a missing child. It’s such an easy way to help.”, said Gail Rego, Head of Communications and Membership at Missing Children Europe
In Europe, a child is reported missing every 2 minutes. To help find these children and give hope to their families, NotFound lets website owners automatically display the picture/details of missing children on the '404 - not found' pages of their websites. This offers a much wider exposure by reaching out to internet users around the world, who may have useful information that could help find missing children.
More than 92 million photos of missing children have been displayed at a rate of more than 42 thousand photos per day. The Notfound web app incorporates geo-localized technology, whereby internet users would only see the details of local missing children cases relevant to their location. Watch Hannah’s video to understand how it works.
“As the father of a child missing for over a decade I have supported the use of the notfound.org 404 web app since it was first released and have campaigned to see it applied to websites more widely. It is free, easy to apply and could help families to be re-united. I fully support this initiative and would urge anyone reading this to consider helping in any way they can to see the app installed on websites throughout Europe.” says Kevin Gosden, father of Andrew Gosden, who went missing on 14 September 2007.
Investigations into missing children cases requires a huge amount of resources in terms of time and manpower for the police. Applying the NotFound.org app to websites is another easy and cost-free way of making a difference. But Notfound also helps website owners in other ways. Using Notfound on your website increases your Google search ranking. Another benefit is that while most people who reach a 404 error page would otherwise leave the website, notfound improves the user experience by making even the most useless page on your website meaningful.
In Belgium, the federal government passed a resolution in July to support the Notfound campaign on all its websites. In the UK, the South Yorkshire Police have applied NotFound to their websites. These are some great examples that will hopefully inspire other authorities and website owners to do the same.
How can you help?
1. If you have a website, please consider downloading and using the Notfound.org web app. It’s free and it only takes a few minutes to set up. If you don't have a website but know someone who does, ask them to consider downloading the application.
2. Get the word out about the Notfound.org web app by tweeting about #notfoundday and encouraging more websites to use the application on September 25th.
About Missing Children Europe
Missing Children Europe (MCE) is the European federation for missing and sexually exploited children, representing 31 organisations from 27 European countries. We provide the link between research, policies and organisations on the ground to protect children from any kind of violence, abuse or neglect that is caused by or results from them going missing. Find out more: www.missingchildreneurope.eu
About Notfound.org
The Notfound web app converts a website’s useless 404 error pages into posters of missing children. It was created in 2012 by Missing Children Europe, Child Focus and FamousGrey. More than 5,700 websites in seven European countries are already involved in the operation and more than 92 million photos of missing children have been displayed at a rate of more than 42 thousand photos per day. Find out more: Notfound.org
About Child Focus
The Foundation for missing and sexually exploited children operates under the name Child Focus. It is a public service foundation. 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, the Foundation is completely dedicated to locating missing children and ending their sexual exploitation. To report a disappearance or a case of sexual exploitation, only one free emergency number –the number 116 000 – is needed. Anyone discovering child sexual abuse material on the internet can report it anonymously on the public notification point stopchildporno.be.
For more info:
The Smile of the Child
● Panos Pardalis: press@hamogelo.gr, +30 210 3306 140
Missing Children Europe :
● Gail Rego: gail.rego@missingchildreneurope.eu, 0032 2 894 74 86
● Lisa Bronselaer: lisa.bronselaer@missignchildreneurope.eu
Child Focus :
● Spokesperson Maryse Rolland: Maryse.Rolland@childfocus.org, 0032 479303021