Our Actions
25 May
25 May:
International Missing Children’s Day
International Missing Children’s Day is commemorated every year in many countries around the world. It pursues various goals:
To remember
The main purpose of International Missing Children’s Day is to remember the names and faces of children who have gone missing and to spread a message of solidarity across the globe for parents who do not know where their child is or what has become of him or her.
To prevent
The aim of International Missing Children’s Day is also to encourage reflection on prevention or search strategies for children to be implemented in close collaboration with the authorities entrusted with education and social policy, justice and the police.
To raise awareness
Every 25 May allows people sensitive to the cause of missing children and their families to rally to raise awareness of the actions of associations and provide them with the means to carry out their actions. Thus, 25 May is recurrently devoted to promoting the 116000 hotline, a free European number available 24/7to receive calls from people who are facing the disappearance of a child.
How
do we act?
Droit d’Enfance and the 116 000 Missing Children team come together every May 25th to raise awareness about the disappearance of minors and to make the emergency number known to those in need. On this occasion, the statistics on disappearances in France from the past year are revealed, and a large media campaign is launched. Since 2020, a charitable streaming event on Twitch, Stream On for Kids, has also been organized to raise funds for the 116000 Missing Children service. In 2022, it brought together around twenty streamers in the city of Faches-Thumesnil, who raised €8,238 to develop new projects for families supported by the emergency number.
Why 25 may ?
May 25th was declared International Missing Children’s Day in memory of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who was kidnapped on May 25, 1979, in New York.
It was on the occasion of Etan Patz’s disappearance that, for the first time, the face of a missing child was printed on milk cartons.
The murderer of the young boy confessed on the eve of May 25, 2012, 33 years after the child’s disappearance. In France, the first International Missing Children’s Day was organized on May 25, 2003.
Why myosotis
is the symbol of this day?
The English name of the forget-me-not flower means “forget me not” or “remember me.” This is why this flower was chosen as the symbol for the International Missing Children’s Day, a day of remembrance. Request yours for free by contacting us via email and wear it on your jacket on this day and/or take a photo with it on social media using the #InternationalMissingChildrensDay to show your support for the cause of missing children and affected families.
How
can I help ?
There are several ways you can help spread the word about this day and the emergency number:
If you are an individual, don’t hesitate to share a publication on social networks linking to the 116000 Enfants Disparus website.
If you work in a facility open to the public, don’t hesitate to ask us for posters and flyers to display in your establishment.
If you’re a TV journalist, we can send you a free forget-me-not to wear on the day, and we’re available to intervene on your airwaves.
Finally, if you have a blog or website, you can make your 404 page useful by displaying missing children notices.
