Our impact
Supporting frontline professionals
Over 743 trained professionals across
- 2 MOOCs
- 8 webinars and workshops
- 2 hybrid conferences
- 4 live training sessions
- 2 self-training modules
Raising awareness andchallenging narratives
Over 3 million people reached through Missing Children Europe‘s social media channels in 2025.
More than one million people reached online through the 2025 International Missing Children’s Day campaign, symbolising the scale of child disappearances with children’s shoes placed in the shape of “116 000” in front of the European Parliament.
Over 1.26 million views from a youth ambassador campaign promoting online safety and prevention (bE-aware project).
5,700 Facebook followers
1,181 Instagram followers
8,793 LinkedIn followers
Advocating for child-centred policy
2025 in numbers
16 EU consultation responses
European Internal Security Strategy, MFF, Guidelines on the protection of minors online under Article 28 of the Digital Services Act, LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, Anti-racism Strategy, Gender Equality Strategy, EU Civil Society Strategy, Action plan against cyberbullying, EU Justice Scoreboard, etc.
17 joint statements and letters
co-signed with partner organisations and coalitions, including the EU Alliance for investing in children, European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) and the Child Rights Action Group (CRAG)
1 policy brief
published on children in migration under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
150+ MEPs
in the re-established European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights
In 2025, policy and advocacy work revolved around the below achievements:
MCE’s recommendations were reflected in two of the new Council of Europe ones: on the rights of the child in parental separation proceedings and in care proceedings, adopted in 2025.
As Co-Chair of the Child Rights Action Group (CRAG) in the first half of 2025, MCE led high-level advocacy meetings with EU Commissioners and cabinet members across key portfolios, and coordinated the re-establishment of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights; now bringing together over 150 MEPs.
Together with ECLAG partners, MCE co-organised a Week of Action combining a public stunt with a high-level roundtable to push for stronger legal safeguards against child sexual abuse.
MCE published the policy brief “EU Pact for Migration and Asylum: Safeguarding Children in Migration at risk of going missing,” and was invited to speak at the CERIS Workshop on Missing Persons (DG HOME), the LIBE Committee Exchange of Views on the root causes of missing persons in the EU, and the EU Forum on the Rights of the Child.
Supporting child participation
5 MCE Youth Board members who took part in campaign activities, fundraising, advocacy, and programmes
5 Youth Board members for our Young, Queer, and Away from Home project
8 Youth Board members for our YoU Decide Project
Youth board members took the floor at five major moments in 2025:
Alongside the European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport at the EU Forum on the Rights of the Child
Speaking at the European Parliament event for International Missing Children’s Day, alongside MCE’s Secretary-General, MEPs, and the EC Coordinator for the Rights of the Child
Two youth board members led a panel at the ISPCAN’s Policy Forum on Child Abuse & Neglect in Vilnius on children who run away from home;
Sharing lived experience with practitioners and law enforcement at MCE’s annual conference in Poland
At a cross-border meeting on children displaced from Ukraine, co-hosted by MCE and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Using scientific data to define priorities
26 hotlines
provided data for the Figures and Trends 2025 report.
7,881 missing children cases
recorded and analysed
149,019 points of contact
with the hotlines
Coordinated 2 active research projects
calling for the regular publication of official missing children statistics (DATA MISSING) and highlighting vulnerabilities faced by LGBTIQ+ children who go missing (Young, Queer, and Away From Home).
Conducted 68 interviews
32 young people and 36 practitioners interviewed for Young, Queer and Away from Home
Secured funding for projects
on online child safety, cross-border family disputes, child trafficking, and support for vulnerable runaway and LGBTIQ+ children and young people.
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