The new mobile app, designed and developed by COSMOTE for The Smile of the Child, will soon be available on Apple Store & Google Play
Press Release
– The new mobile app designed and developed by COSMOTE for The Smile of the Child will soon be available on Apple Store & Google Play
– The Smile of the Child:
- supported 864 children in 2019 & 285 children in the 1st quarter of 2020 in terms of Missing Children
- coordinated the disappearance of 12 adults aged 18 to 60 who belong in vulnerable and high-risk groups, in the 1st quarter of 2020
The organisation “The Smile of the Child” together with COSMOTE announced the Missing Alert App, the new and innovative mobile app that assists aided by technology, so that everyone can contribute to better locating missing people. The new mobile app was presented at this year’s online event dedicated to the International Missing Children’s Day (25/5).
The Missing Alert App will soon be available to the public. Anyone can download it on their mobile phone and help in locating missing people across Greece by:
- getting alerts on their mobile involving missing persons’ cases in the area they are located each time,
- participating in searches by sending information via chat,
- mobilising other volunteers in the same area via social media.
Furthermore, users can protect people close to them who belong in vulnerable groups and run a high risk of disappearing (e.g. due to dementia, intellectual disability), by proactively declaring their personal details through the app, so that the missing persons’ alert and search operation are expedited if the need arises.
This initiative to design and develop the Missing Alert App was undertaken by COSMOTE. The Smile of the Child contributed decisively in developing the app from the initial stages of design, given its long experience and expertise in cases involving missing people.
During the unveiling of the app, as well as the presentation of the annual data on missing persons in Greece, the President of The Smile of the Child, Costas Yannopoulos, noted, “COSMOTE stands by The Smile of the Child and the needs of society yet again. It innovates by designing and rolling out another useful and much needed tool to locate children or adults aged 18 to 60 who belong in vulnerable or high-risk groups. Thanks to this new app, we can actively contribute in locating a fellow citizen who has gone missing, completely free of charge. This app is also proactive in nature, which is extremely important, given that in every disappearance, time is of essence in locating and safely bringing home a child or adult who has gone missing.”
“The idea for the Missing Alert App originated at the Hackathon, our internal technology competition, by a group of young people who had a missing person experience in their family,” said George Athanasopoulos, OTE Group Information Technology Officer, during the event. “We were immediately interested in developing it, seeing that we had an original and smart tech solution in front of us, which could help solve a very serious social issue, by expanding the participation and social solidarity network. This is our company’s aim. To make the world a better place for everyone through technology,” concluded Mr Athanasopoulos.
Stats for preventing & managing missing people in Greece
During the online event, The Smile of the Child also presented the official statistics relating to its actions and services for preventing and handling the issue of missing people.
Specifically, from 01/01/2019 to 30/04/2020:
-The 116000 EU missing children hotline received 12,066 calls. With a view to prevention, special psychologists carried out interventions on 986 school students, 1,332 parents and guardians, and 1,872 teachers.
-The Organisation worked closely with the Hellenic Police and other competent bodies on 163 cases involving missing children, 138 of whom were found, as well as 12 missing adults, 10 of whom were located. Amber Alert Hellas was activated for 16 children, while the new Missing Alert Hellas service, addressed to people aged 18 to 60 who belong in vulnerable and high-risk groups, was activated for 8 adults.
-There was growing focus on the new significant partnerships between The Smile of the Child and the Ministries of Citizen Protection and National Defence. Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Eleftherios Oikonomou and Deputy Minister of National Defence Alkiviadis Stefanis talked about these initiatives.
The Missing Alert App will be added to the tools available both at The Smile of the Child and other institutional competent bodies to prevent and manage any case involving missing people. The app will be managed by a dedicated team within the Organisation and any information will be channelled to the right people, so that it is evaluated and used to the extent possible, aiming to locate the missing person fast.
COSMOTE takes advantage of technology and innovation to create solutions and apps so as to make the world a better place for all. In this context, it has been continuously supporting the significant work carried out by The Smile of the Child, offering telecommunications services, infrastructure and tech solutions that assist the Organisation in its difficult task of caring for children and addressing missing people cases in Greece.
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