“The Smile of the Child”, Trusted NGO partner of Facebook,contributed to the Global Safety and Well-Being Summit 2019along with leading organizations from around the world
27 May 2019
PRESS RELEASE
Athens, 28 May, 2019
“The Smile of the Child”, Trusted NGO partner of Facebook,contributed to the Global Safety and Well-Being Summit 2019 along with leading organizations from around the world
“The Smile of the Child”, Trusted NGO partner of Facebook, contributed to the Global Safety and Well-Being Summit 2019, organized by Facebook on the 14th and 15th of May in New York City. Along with more than 120 experts from 40 countries working on safety and technology, ‘The Smile of the Child’ shared the Greek experience in discussions ranging from technology and suicide prevention to the well-being of children growing up in a digital age.
Mr. Costas Yannopoulos, President of ‘The Smile of the Child’, member of the BoD of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) and President of the European Antibullying Network (EAN), sharedthe national experience in the field of prevention, awareness raising and direct intervention for the protection and safety of children online as well as the European and global efforts in order to ensure that children and the youth remain safe on the Internet.
The discussions focused on how technology plays a crucial role by offering tools and ways of timely prevention and effective support to those in in need of assistance, while particular emphasis was put to the ever rising problem of suicide, one of the leading causes of death across the world. Facebook works closely with specialized actors, among them ‘The Smile of the Child’ in Greece, in order to better understand suicide prevention and develop services and resources where people in distress can turn to in order to receive proper guidance and support.
In light of recent tragic cases in Greece of children who committed suicide ‘The Smile of the Child’ informed the participants aboutits hands-on experience and the specific tools, amongst others the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056 with the aim to encourage children and adults in distress that seek help and specialized assistance. In this regard, ‘The Smile of the Child’ will develop thanks to the kind support of the National Bank of Greece the Chat App of the SOS 1056 hotline with the goal to offer an additional digital tool to those children and teens who will need help and support online.
Apart from national challenges, global challenges were also thoroughly discussed as well as good practices, innovative ideas, new digital applications and ways of online interaction with the aim to educate children, parents and the general public on the proper use of technology and ensure their protection from the risks hidden in the online world, such as hate speech, cyberbullying and online harassment.
The cooperation between Facebook and “The Smile of the Child” dates back to 2016. The purpose of this partnership is to facilitate the spread of instant information via a dedicated email notification to all users in Greece when a child goes missing. In addition, the partnership between “The Smile of the Child” and Facebook covers the field of online safety of children and prevention of phenomena related to the use of the Internet.
As one of the global suicide prevention partners of Facebook, “The Smile of the Child” encourages reports of suicidal content in order to ensure the online protection of children and directly intervene and help children in need of support. This cooperation is made possible thanks to the 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, operation of the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056 and the European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111, as well as the partnership with the Cyber-Crime Unit of the Hellenic Police.
Watch the full video material of the Summit here
For more information, please contact our press team at press@hamogelo.gr or +30 210 3306140.
