“The Smile of the Child” presents best practices on the protection of refugee and migrant children at the "Lost in Migration" Conference
13 April 2018
Brussels, 13 April 2018
Missing Children Europe and the Maltese President’s Foundation for the Well-Being of Society organized the second edition of the Lost in Migration conference with the support of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE), the EP Intergroup on the Rights of the Child, the EPIM foundation and the Partnership on the Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees of the Urban Agenda for the EU.
Local authorities, experts, researchers and civil society organizations active in the field of child protection were among the main participants of the conference, which was honored by the presence of Her Majesty Queen Paola as a member of the Patron’s Council of Missing Children Europe and HE President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.
During the conference, held on the 11th and 12th of April in Brussels, participants had the opportunity to take stock of the progress achieved since the adoption of the EC Communication on the protection of children in migration, identify good and promising practices in the implementation of the commitments at the local level and outline recommendations on the way forward.
“The Smile of the Child”, founding member and member of the BoD of Missing Children Europe, held a joint workshop with Minor-Ndako Organization from Belgium focusing on ways of support and protection of children in migration through a holistic approach mechanism at the local level.
More specifically, members of the scientific personnel of “The Smile of the Child” presented the Organization’s approach towards children and unaccompanied minors, the mixed model of its nationwide network of Homes for children, the model of the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056, the European Hotline for Missing Children 116000 and the European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111 in the framework of operation of Direct Social Intervention Centers, as well as the medical care actions of the Organization in support of children and families with health and/or welfare problems. Participants from Minor-Ndako presented good practices stemming from the operation of the Youth Care Facilities of the Belgian Organization highlighting differences from large-scale reception centers.
Similar workshops were organized throughout the two-day conference from different Organizations and on key challenges, such as youth integration, the mental health needs of refugee and migrant young people, the risks of trafficking, whereas best practices and training models were shared in order to empower child protection professionals working on the ground.
Key principle and conclusion of all the contributions was that migrant children on the move are first and foremost children and they have the right to life, safety love and protection like any other child.
Last year’s conference was held in Malta, hosted by the Maltese President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society, bringing together 160 professionals and experts, among those of "The Smile of the Child", to discuss child protection challenges that lead to disappearances of these children.
The conference strongly supported the call for a European comprehensive approach on the issue of children in migration, and the conclusions of this conference, outlining operational and policy recommendations to Member States and Institutions, were endorsed by over 50 organizations, including “The Smile of the Child” and shared with national and European authorities.
