“The Smile of the Child” and the Municipality of Stockholm exchange good practices and tools in child protection
20 October 2017
Athens, 20 October 2017
A study visit among “The Smile of the Child” and the Municipality of Stockholm took place on 11-13 October in Athens with the participation of the scientific personnel of the Greek Organization and the team of the Municipality of Stockholm. This visit was organized in the framework of the longstanding and strong bilateral cooperation between the two actors on issues related to the protection of children.
More specifically, the aim of this visit was to exchange good practices used in Greece and Sweden on issues related to child abuse, bullying and domestic violence. A team of psychologists and social workers from the Municipality of Stockholm presented several tools and methods in therapy and prevention. Respectively, the scientific team of “The Smile of the Child” presented the actions of the Organization in Greece.
Among them the nationwide network of Homes of Care for children victims of abuse and/or neglect, the actions of support and intervention through the operation of the European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111 and the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056, the European Anti-bullying Network (EAN) and informative interventions and awareness among students, parents and teachers across school communities nationwide.
The team of the Municipality of Stockholm visited “The House of the Child” Day Center for victims of any form of violence and was informed on the therapeutic interventions and support provided from its scientific team to children victims.
Similar visits were organized to one of the Homes of Care of “The Smile of the Child” where more than 300 children are currently raised nationwide as well as the studio of European Student Volunteer Network YOUSMILE where visitors were informed by the student volunteers of the network about the actions of awareness undertaken by the young volunteers on phenomena such as child abuse and bullying.
During this visit the staff of “The Smile of the Child” and the Municipality of Stockholm discussed on similarities and differences in the management of cases of child abuse and explored common tools and practices that can be applied effectively for the benefit of children and families in both countries.
