SOS Il Telefono Azzurro Onlus (Italy)

S.O.S. Il Telefono Azzurro Onlus was founded in Italy in 1987 as a non-profit organization committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. During these 24 years, it has become a reference point for children and adolescents in difficulty and living at risk. The association is also strongly involved in advocating children's rights and promoting a children's culture within the society by collaborating closely with national and international institutions. Telefono Azzurro Onlus wants to promote through a constant work of information, sensibilization and dissemination of the aquired knowledge, a total respect of the individual during his/her first formation and the his entire developmental age, safeguarding the natural potential of growth and protects him/her against abuse of physical or psychological nature which can undermined his realization. The core of Telefono Azzurro Onlus’ activity is the telephone counselling service. The national call center is operative 24 hours a day for 365 days a year and answers to thousands of calls everyday from all over Italy. The Telefono Azzurro National Call Center, based in Milan and Palermo, receives and manages all the incoming calls. Since 2003, the Association manage the Italian National Child Emergency toll free number 114, which is a result of a joint effort by the Ministries of Communications, Equal Opportunities and Work and Social Policies. In 2009 the association was also assigned the number 116.000 for missing and exploited children. Properly trained operators manage cases of missing and exploited children in collaboration with Law Enforcement. Telefono Azzurro is member of the Network Missing Children Europe and part of the network of Child Helpline International (CHI); inhope; European Foundation for Street Children (EFSC) The years of activity of Telefono Azzurro have seen the start of new projects that (on the wake of changes intervene at social-cultural level) give support and complete the activities of listening. Telefono Azzurro carries out:  the Emergency Team; the Research centre; the Training centre; the International co-operations; the attention to such new themes as Internet and the media (the association promoted the Carta of Treviso, undersigned in 1990 by the National Order of Journalists and by the National Federation of Italian Press, which aims to safeguard the privacy of children in the media. Telefono Azzurro also took part in the activity of a group of experts who realized the “Code of TV and Minor Self-Regulation” that is effective since January 2003, and the “Code of Internet and Children Self-Regulation”, presented in December 2003  Formative activities addressed to multi-professional working groups, planned and realized on both the themes of sexual violence and pedophilia, on-line, too;  Activities of prevention realized in schools with children, parents and teachers;  Activities of study and research realized by the The Center of Research and Documentation, that gathers documentation and materials at a national and international level, elaborates the primary data coming from the National Call Center, develops research activities and promotes a permanent observatory on childhood and adolescence  Telefono Azzurro intends to share its knowledge and results by promoting abuse-prevention awareness campaigns and specific training initiatives where public local authorities, social health workers, professionals from different backgrounds are also involved. TA

Countries

Key information

Operation level:
National
Works with age groups:
Organisation type:
NGO - non governmental organisation

Mandate

Organisation mandate

, Children 0 - 18

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