Facebook announced its partnership with the non-profit voluntary Organization "The Smile of the Child"

Facebook and the non-profit voluntary Organization "The Smile of the Child" announced their cooperation in dealing with missing children cases through the AMBER Alert Hellas mechanism during a joint press conference held on Monday, October 10th. It is an extremely important cooperation that will ensure the immediate, accurate and timely dissemination of information on a child disappearance to a very large audience.

The event was held at the premises of the Operational Center of "The Smile of the Child" and was addressed by the Police Lieutenant General of the Hellenic Police, Mr. Ioannis Diamantopoulos, the Head of the Hellenic Cyber-Crime Unit, Mr. Georgios Papaprodromou, the Lieutenant General of the Hellenic Fire Brigade, Mr. Sotirios Terzoudis, the Head of Unit for the Security and Protection of Sea Borders of the Hellenic Coast Guard, Mr. Eleftherios Petropoulos, the President of the Hellenic Red Cross, Dr. Antonios Avgerinos, and the Director General of the Association of Information Technology Companies of Greece (SEPE), Mr. Giannis Syrros.

The event brought together representatives of institutional partners, as well as the internationally certified rescue dog teams and their handlers and members of the Search and Rescue Team "Thanasis Makris" of "The Smile of the Child".

During his speech, the President of the Board of Directors of "The Smile of the Child", Mr. Costas Yannopoulos, highlighted the paramount importance of cooperation with Facebook in the activation of AMBER Alert for the benefit of children in Greece.

More specifically, he said: "The partnership with Facebook is central to "The Smile of the Child". By trusting our work in Greece and abroad, as well as our services, Facebook will be actively involved in the activation of the AMBER Alert Hellas and the dissemination of information on a missing child case that will appear to Facebook users in the area where the child is sought. Missing minors are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, trafficking and smuggling, illegal or precarious work, to criminal acts either as victims or as perpetrators and risks of physical violence and anger. "The Smile of the Child" is next to each missing child setting its services at the disposal of the competent authorities with which it works closely in order to immediately locate and save the child in danger. Today, Facebook is one of the most important means of communication in the world and "The Smile of the Child" is connected to the children online through its website where social workers and psychologists are dealing with every issue and problem of a child in need. Uniting forces with Facebook will enhance our support to children and teenagers in need of our assistance".

Ms. Εmily Vacher, Facebook's Trust & Safety Director, stated: "Today's launch clearly shows the determination of our Greek partner to increase the reach of AMBER Alerts. We know that when a child is missing, the most valuable thing we can do is get information out to the public as fast as possible. By getting the right information to the right people at the right time through AMBER Alerts on Facebook, we hope to reunite missing children with their families faster".

As soon as the "European Hotline for Missing Children 116000" or the Hellenic Police receive a call and consider that the life of a missing child is in imminent danger, "The Smile of the Child" activates the AMBER Alert in cooperation with the Hellenic Police. When this happens, Facebook sends an AMBER Alert to the News Feed of people on Facebook that "includes a photo of the child and any information that the public would need to be able to help find this child", pointed out Emily Vacher. "People will also be able to share the AMBER Alert with their Facebook friends in hope of extending the reach even further," she concluded.

At the same time, during the event the Operational Center of Direct Social Intervention of "The Smile of the Child" was presented, a center which is coordinated by professional and operational staff (social workers, psychologists and rescuers).

"The Smile of the Child" coordinates and operates:

The European Hotline for Missing Children 116000

The AMBER Alert Hellas ( 57 members)

ECAAS (EUROPEAN CHILD ALERT AUTOMATED SYSTEM)

It is worth noting that during the first semester of 2016, "The Smile of the Child" received 120 requests of support in searches for missing children at the European Hotline for Missing Children 116000. Out of this total number 88 children were found.

"The Smile of the Child" sets at the disposal of every missing child:

the Search and Rescue Team "Thanasis Makris" with the participation of certified dog teams;

the Mobile Operational Unit (van);

a number of specialized logistics (jeeps, ATV, bike, ambulance);

«Odysseas», the Mobile Operational Center.