Helplines: Responding to Children in Crisis

Eurochild members Smile of the Child and BRIS Sweden co-organised a two-day international event on the role of child helplines in supporting children in times of crisis.

Children and young people have been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate change-related natural hazards and the war in Ukraine and many are in particularly vulnerable situations.

"Children are affected by crises, but we often overlook the long-term impact they have on their lives and paths. Our aim is to see how we can be even more effective in our response and support every child in crisis." said Costas Yannopoulos, Smile of the Child President.

Child helplines are an essential part of strong national protection systems and must be supported and strengthened. Every year they are in contact with more than 20 million children worldwide. 

The goal of the two-day event organised by Eurochild members The Smile of the Child and BRIS was to stimulate and facilitate the exchange of best practices in responding to and supporting children in crisis. More than 70 participants in person and 500 online, from Europe, America and Africa, came together to discuss the importance of accessibility of hotlines and helplines in times of crisis and the essential measures and actions to take to assist and expand knowledge and skills of crisis management employees.

The hybrid high-level event was followed by a roundtable discussion featuring addresses by state authorities officials and international organisations, keynote speeches and panel interventions by leading researchers and experts, as well as practitioners from Greece, Sweden and other countries.

Watch the recording of the live-streaming: