Today, Missing Children Europe launches a series of videos by young newcomers from across Europe spreading the word about the Miniila app, a digital tool designed to help migrants to stay safe and informed.
The Miniila app is specifically tailored to the needs of unaccompanied children and youth on the move, with a focus on facilitating access to understandable information and dedicated services such as shelter, food banks, and health services in their current location. The app also easily connects them to the 116 000 missing children hotline and the 116 111 helpline, as well as information on the rights of children in the EU and on relevant procedures, such as procedures for international protection and family reunification.
According to Lost in Europe, between 2018-2020 over 18, 000 children have gone missing since arriving in Europe, equivalent to nearly 17 children a day. Data from 116 000 hotline show that only 43% of cases opened in 2020 concerning children in migration resulted in finding a child, and in over half of these cases the child was not found within the year.
In November 2020, young migrant advocates from 7 European cities (Valletta, Berlin, Bad Homburg, Naples, Palermo, Antwerp and Athens) met with local policy makers to share their experiences and discuss the EU’s migration and asylum policies affecting children and young people, leading them to go missing. The outcomes of the local hubs are available here.
All services included in the app are provided by trusted NGOs and international organisations. Missing Children Europe has involved children throughout the development process to make sure that the app is attractive, trustworthy and responds to their needs. It is available in five languages (English, French, Arabic, Farsi and Tigrinya) and ten countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia and the UK.
In 2022, Missing Children Europe and partners hope to make the Miniila app available in two more countries on the Balkan route, to increase the accessibility of the app by offering an offline version, and to add new languages to make it more inclusive.
Editor’s note:
Missing Children Europe is the European federation for missing and sexually exploited children. Missing Children Europe represents a network of 31 NGOs in 26 countries in Europe. We provide the link between research, policies and organisations on the ground to protect children from any kind of violence, abuse or neglect that is caused by or results from them going missing.
The app was developed with the support of Livewall concepts.
For more information on the Miniila app project, visit our website or contact us.
Key partners in the development of the app and in the coordination of the dissemination in the countries involved are:
