International Missing Children’s Day, observed globally every 25 May, is the opportunity to raise awareness about child disappearances and share a message of hope with their families.
For this year’s campaign, we focused on the colour blue. With #BlueForHope, we created a European social media movement with people participating in taking photos wearing blue or with something blue showing support for the search for missing children. The colour is a symbol of hope, solidarity, and the message that when a child goes missing, we keep looking.
On 25 May, Missing Children Europe and its member organisations came together to create a powerful, shared European moment. As the final highlight, more than 200 landmarks in participating European cities were lit up in blue at night.
Across Europe, this was a visible reminder that help is always available through 116 000.
With the unwavering commitment of Ewa Kopacz, Vice-President of the European Parliament, the illumination of the European Parliament became a reality for the #BlueForHope campaign amplifying our message and inspiring action across Europe.
The 116 000 hotline
One of the most vital support systems in place is the 116 000 hotline, available in 32 European countries. This free and confidential helpline offers psychological, legal, and practical assistance to children and families. The hotline is designed to be accessible 24/7, but unfortunately, that is not the case everywhere.
Every parent of a child who is missing deserves to know that there is still hope. Together, we can send a strong signal: we never stop looking. Hotlines are of utmost importance in supporting the search for missing children: in an act of solidarity, every citizen can help promote their existence.
– Aagje Ieven, Secretary General of Missing Children Europe
A European movement across society
The campaign started with people: before monuments turned blue, Europeans turned blue first.
Content creators, organisations, citizens, and policy-makers joined the campaign by sharing photos and video messages of themselves in blue or with something blue to help build a visible European movement around hope, vigilance and support for missing children.
Participation throughout society mattered because the issue of missing children can affect anyone thus it is important to strengthen public awareness of the scale of missing children in Europe. With this, the visibility of the 116 000 hotline as a key support mechanism was increased. The blue posts demonstrated a unified European message of solidarity and vigilance and cross-sector commitment to child protection.
Insights can be found through the hashtag #BlueForHope on all social platforms linked below.
The scale of the #BlueForHope campaign
Contributing creators and organisations (not exhaustive):
- Alberto Soler (@asolers)
- ALO 116 (@alo_116111_shqiperi)
- Burak Keşanlıoğlu
- Diana Jiménez (@dianajimenezpsicologa)
- Elena Kremlidou (@elena_mariposa)
- Fundación ANAR (@fundacionanar)
- Hilde Vautmans (@hilde.vautmans)
- Hope for Children CRC Policy Center (@hopeforchildrencrcpolicycenter)
- Fundacja ITAKA (@fundacja_itaka)
- Katrin Langensiepen (@katrinlangensiepen)
- Luana Vjollca (@luanavjollca)
- Maria Philiastidou (@mama_maria_of_3)
- Mariana Capurro (@marianacapurropsicologa)
- Nadja Centre Foundation
- Olivia Lori (@olivialori.eu)
- Pamairi Afentaki (@pamairii)
- Salvati Copiii Romania (@salvaticopiiiromania)
- Telefono Azzurro (@telefono_azzurro)
- The Smile of the Child (@hamogelo)
- Tsvetana Boneva (@tsvetana.boneva)
- Vaggelis Nakis (@v.nakis98)
List of landmarks in Europe:
Albania
- Prime Minister’s Office, Tirana
Belgium
- European Parliament, Brussels
Bulgaria
- Historical hill Tsarevets, Veliko Tarnovo
Czech Republic
- Petřín Tower, Prague
Italy
- Church of San Donato and its historic bell tower, Fossacesia
- Fontana dei Due Leoni (Piazza Ercole Vincenzo Orsini) and illuminated fountain of Piazza Garibaldi, Teramo
- Palazzo Municipale, Maratea
- Palazzo Municipale, San Giorgio Albanese
- Teatro Comunale Vincenzo Scaramuzza, Crotone
- Municipal headquarters (Corso G. Garibaldi 45), Portici
- Façade of Palazzo del Podestà (Piazza Maggiore), Bologna
- Fontana del Graziosi (Largo Garibaldi), Modena
- Palazzo Municipale, Parma
- Large ash tree near the Town Hall, Albinea
- Palazzo Municipale, Casalgrande
- Palazzo Municipale, Correggio
- Palazzo del Turismo (Piazzale Ceccarini), Riccione
- Palazzo Municipale, Coriano
- Town Hall (Piazza Castello 1), Sesto al Reghena
- Municipal building (Piazza Napoleone I, 6), Osoppo
- Fontana del Nettuno (Piazza della Borsa), Trieste
- Palazzo Chigi, Rome
- Seat of the Italian Government, Rome
- Villa Lubin (headquarters of CNEL), Rome
- Clock of the Civic Tower of the Town Hall, Latina
- Pedestrian bridge over the Brembo River, San Pellegrino Terme
- Town Hall fountain, Chiari
- Palazzo Loggia, Brescia
- Palazzo Pirelli, Milan
- Municipal building, Paderno Dugnano
- Municipal building, Pantigliate
- Palazzo Municipale, Mignanego
- Palazzo Municipale, Sassoferrato
- Monument to the Fisherman, San Benedetto del Tronto
- Tower of the Passero Solitario, Recanati
- Town Hall, San Severino Marche
- Civic Tower, Casale Monferrato
- Palazzo Tornielli (municipal headquarters), Borgomanero
- Antonellian dome, Novara
- Tower of Santa Marcellina, Ceres
- City bell towers, Cafasse
- Municipal building (Via Marconi 9), Castellana Grotte
- Municipal headquarters (Corso Europa 214), Carlantino
- Former convent (institutional headquarters, Via Brigata Sassari), Quartu Sant’Elena
- Palazzo Comunale “Palazzo Zanca”, Messina
- Teatro Massimo, Palermo
- Palazzo Comunale Senatorio Cavarretta, Trapani
- Tower of San Luca (Piazza delle Torri), Terranuova Bracciolini
- Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence
- Palazzo Municipale, Campi Bisenzio
- Monument in Piazza della Vittoria, Empoli
- Piazza Bad Kissingen, Massa
- Grotesque of Palazzo Ducale, Massa
- Palazzo Banci Buonamici (Provincial headquarters), Prato
- Town Hall, Vaiano
- Façade of the Government Commissioner’s building, Bolzano
- Palazzo Municipale, Sigillo
- Fontana Maggiore, Perugia
- Palazzo Municipale, Pietralunga
- Tower of Vachéry, Etroubles
- Stanga fountain (illumination), Padua
- Palazzo Nodari (Town Hall), La Rotonda and the Local Police Headquarters (Via Marconi), Rovigo
- Palazzo Municipale, Fontanelle
- Sphere of Via Roma, Treviso
- Façade of Villa Giovannina, Villorba
- Town Hall (Via Roma 18), Mansuè
- Ca’ Farsetti and Ca’ Loredan, Venice
- Torrione (Piazza della Libertà), Legnago
Poland
- National Police Headquarters building, Warsaw
- Voivodeship Police Headquarters buildings, various locations
- Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw
- Office of the Children’s Rights Ombudsman, Warsaw
- Śląsko-Dąbrowski Bridge, Warsaw
- Father Bernatek Footbridge, Krakow
- Tauron Arena, Krakow
- Neptune’s Fountain, Gdansk
- Baltic Opera, Gdansk
- Town Hall, Poznan
- Silesian Stadium, Chorzow
- Gliwice Radio Tower, Gliwice
- University Bridge, Bydgoszcz
- Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship Office building, Bydgoszcz
- Starogard Gdański Powiat Office, Starogard Gdański
- Starogard Gdański City Hall, Starogard Gdański
- Geodesy Building, Kościerzyna
- Nowy Dwór Gdański Powiat Office, Nowy Dwór Gdański
- Wejherowo Culture Center – Kashubian Philharmonic, Wejherowo
- Malbork Powiat Office, Malbork
- Sztum Town and Gmina Office, Sztum
- Dzierzgoń Town Hall, Dzierzgoń
- Tczew City Hall, Tczew
- Tczew Gmina Office, Tczew
- Kwidzyn City Hall, Kwidzyn
- Neptune’s Fountain, Gdansk
- Viaduct along Kościuszki Street, Gdansk
- Municipal Culture Center, Skarżysko-Kamienna
- Starachowice Powiat Office building, Starachowice
- Culture Center, Pińczów
- “Browar Kultury” Culture Center, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
- Piła City Hall, Piła
- Regional Culture Center, Piła
- Police Academy, Szczytno
- Police School, Piła
- Police School, Słupsk
- Police Training Center, Legionowo
- Over 70 Police Headquarters buildings, Poland
Portugal
- Headquarters of Instituto de Apoio à Criança, Lisbon
- City council building, Almodôvar
- City council building, Vouzela
- City council building, Barcelos
- City council building, Covilhã
- City council building, Almada
- City council building, Vila Nova de Famalicão
- Palacete dos Viscondes de Balsemão, Porto
- City council building, Vendas Novas
Romania
- I.L. Caragiale National High School, Bucharest
- Display on 100 billboards, Bucharest and main big cities of Romania
Spain
- Neptune Fountain, Madrid
- Telefónica building, Madrid
Want to do more?
Help us raise funds to continue the support and coordination of the European network of 116 000 hotlines and the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM), an essential tool to guarantee quality service for all hotlines across Europe.
Each donation of 25EUR will help us maintain a monthly CRM license for one hotline. This allows us to keep track of details and updates on missing children cases and ease cross-border cooperation between hotlines operating in different countries, to better prevent and efficiently find missing children whilst support their families.
2025
Last year on May 22, Missing Children Europe transformed Place du Luxembourg, in front of the European Parliament, by laying out hundreds of children’s shoes to spell out “116 000″ — the EU-wide hotline for missing children. This striking visual served as a memorial, a symbol of remembrance and hope, and a call to action.
Their voices joined together — alongside EU officials, members of the civil society child rights community, and our friends from Les Petits Riens, without whom this memorial would not have been possible — to honour missing children and remind Europe of the ongoing need to protect its youngest citizens.