INFORMATION PACKAGE

WELCOME

The Child Helpline International (CHI) Secretariat and Telefono Azzurro have the pleasure to

welcome you to the “III European Regional Consultation for child helplines” in Milan. From 5 – 7

October 2009 the capital of the Lombard region will host participants from over 40 European

countries. Together with you we look forward to this exciting combination of great networking

opportunities for child helplines and their partners and the unique Milanese atmosphere of history,

food and fashion.

This year‟s Consultation primarily focuses on three main topics. Firstly, it will highlight the issue of

new communication technologies which are taken up by children and young people first and foremost

and therefore become more and more important for child helplines. Secondly, it will provide a platform

to discuss the opportunities and challenges that come with sharing a common telephone number and

brand on a wider regional level. And thirdly, it will initiate a dialogue amongst the membership about

the strategic direction of the network and therewith start shaping the future of CHI.

This document contains all important information regarding the logistics and the program of the “III

European Regional Consultation for child helplines” and includes a number of Hyperlinks you can use

for further reading on the web.

CHI and Telefono Azzurro wish you a pleasant stay in Milan and a stimulating, informative and

successful Consultation.

_____________________________________________

MILAN

Milan (Milano), situated on the flat plains of the Po Valley, is the capital of Lombardy and thoroughly

enjoys its hard-earned role as Italy's richest and second largest city. Wealthy and cosmopolitan, the

Milanesi enjoy a reputation as successful business people, equally at home overseas and in Italy.

Embracing tradition, sophistication and ambition in equal measure, they are just as likely to follow

opera at La Scala as their shares on the city's stock market or their two soccer teams at the San Siro

Stadium.

Three times in its history, the city had to rebuild after being conquered. Founded in the seventh

century BC by Celts, the city, then known as Mediolanum („mid-plain'), was first sacked by the Goths

in the 600s (AD), then by Barbarossa in 1157 and finally by the Allies in WW II, when over a quarter of

the city was flattened.

Milan successively reinvented herself under French, Spanish and then Austrian rulers from 1499 until

the reunification of Italy in 1870. It is a miracle that so many historic treasures still exist, including

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, which survived a direct hit in WWII.

Milan is founded around a historic nucleus radiating from the cathedral (Il Duomo), with a star-shaped

axis of arteries spreading through modern suburbs to the ring road. The modern civic centre lies to

the northwest, around Central Station, and is dominated by the Pirelli skyscraper, which dates from

1956. The trade and fashion fairs take place in the Fiera district, west of the nucleus around the Porta

Genova station.

Milan's economic success was founded at the end of the 19th century, when the metal factories and

the rubber industries moved in, replacing agriculture and mercantile trading as the city's main sources

of income. Milan's position at the heart of a network of canals, which provided the irrigation for the

Lombard plains and the important trade links between the north and south, became less important as

industry took over - and the waterways were filled. A few canals remain in the Navigli district near the

Bocconi University, a fashionable area in which to drink and listen to live music.

Since the 1970s, Milan has remained the capital of Italy's automobile industry and its financial

markets, but the limelight is dominated by the fashion houses, which, in turn, have drawn media and

advertising agencies to the city. Milan remains the marketplace for Italian fashion - fashion

aficionados, supermodels and international paparazzi descend upon the city twice a year for its spring

and autumn fairs. Valentino, Versace and Armani may design and manufacture their clothes

elsewhere, but Milan, which has carefully guarded its reputation for flair, drama and creativity, is Italy's

natural stage

ARRIVAL AND GENERAL INFORMATION

Milan has two principal airports: Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa. Moreover, many Budget flights

also use Bergamo Airport, as well easily accessible from Milan centre. Initially it was planned to

organise pick-up services for all participants from and to the airports. However this turned out much

more cost intensive than foreseen. Therefore participants are requested to use public transport from

and to their arrival and departure airports. The Secretariat will reimburse the costs for this return trip

by public transport to you upon provision of receipts at the Regional Consultation. In the Conference

Orientation session on Monday we will inform you about the logistics of reimbursements. The below

descriptions will guide you on your way to the Hotel.

Milan Malpensa Airport

Malpensa is the principal airport for Milan, serving airlines and flights from all around the world. A fast

rail service, the half-hourly Malpensa Express train, connects the airport to “Cadorna Stazione Nord”

in Milan. A ticket costs €9, and the journey takes 50 minutes. From “Cadorna Stazione Nord” catch

the Underground Line 2 (the green line on the map), direction “Cologno/Gessate” and get off at

“Garibaldi F.S.” Leaving the station follow the signs to exit "Passante Ferroviario" and “Via Guglielmo

Pepe”. Proceed for about 400 meters on “Via Guglielmo Pepe” (sometimes referred to as simply “Via

Pepe") until the end of the street. On your right hand side you will find the “Holiday Inn Milan Garibaldi

Station”. See the walk from the station to the hotel on this map.

Milan Linate Airport

Linate is the closest airport to the centre of Milan. The airport is mostly used for domestic and

European flights. From Linate an efficient coach service runs directly to “Piazza Luigi di Savoia”, next

to “Stazione Centrale”. The bus runs every 30 minutes during the day; the journey takes 30 minutes

and costs €2. Take the green Metro line direction “Famagosta” or “Abbiategrasso” which connects

“Stazione Centrale” directly to “Stazione Garibaldi F.S.” Leaving the station follow the signs to exit

"Passante Ferroviario" and “Via Guglielmo Pepe”. Proceed for about 400 meters on “Via Guglielmo

Pepe” (sometimes referred to as simply “Via Pepe") until the end of the street. On your right hand side

you will find the “Holiday Inn Milan Garibaldi Station”. See the walk from the station to the hotel on this

map.

Bergamo Orio Al Serio Airport

Frequent bus services run from the Bergamo Orio Al Serio airport to Milan “Stazione Centrale”. Two

companies, Autostradale and Orioshuttle operate half-hourly coach services to Milan's main railway

station, “Stazione Centrale”. Travel from Bergamo Airport to Milan costs around 9 EUR one way, and

around 17 EUR for a return. The journey takes around an hour. Buy your tickets at the “Autostradale”

or “Orioshuttle” offices in the arrivals hall of Orio Al Serio airport. Take the green Metro line direction

“Famagosta” or “Abbiategrasso” which connects “Stazione Centrale” directly to “Stazione Garibaldi

F.S.” Leaving the station follow the signs to exit "Passante Ferroviario" and “Via Guglielmo Pepe”.

Proceed for about 400 meters on “Via Guglielmo Pepe” (sometimes referred to as simply “Via Pepe")

until the end of the street. On your right hand side you will find the “Holiday Inn Milan Garibaldi

Station”. See the walk from the station to the hotel on this map.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN MILAN

The centre of Milan is spread over a fairly large area, but the public transport system is cheap,

efficient and fairly swift. It is possible to travel between the central sights on foot, but further afield the

streets are often dull, and your time is better saved by jumping on a tram, bus or metro.

Milan's public transport system is extensive, and you would be well advised to pick up a map showing

routes if you are planning to be in Milan a few days. The network is run by a company called ATM,

and tickets are valid on all the types of public transport. A single ticket lasts 75 minutes and costs

EUR 1. You can use it on as many buses and trams as you like, but you are only permitted one metro

journey. Most useful for tourists are the 24 hour and 48 hour tickets (EUR 3 and EUR 5.50

respectively). Tickets can be bought at news kiosks, bars and at the Tourist Information Centre in

“Stazione Centrale”. Stamp your ticket in the machine provided the first time you use it (machines are

onboard buses and trams, and at the entrance gates to the Metro).

Milan's underground train network, the Metro (or Metropolitana) is quite user-friendly. There are three

lines, distinguished by number and colour. M1 (red) is useful for tourist attractions and the Fiera. M3

(yellow) intersects with M1 at Duomo (the station right in front of the Duomo) and with M2 (green) at

Stazione Centrale, Milan's main railway station (sometimes marked as Centrale FS). You need to

know the final destinations of the train you want, as the platforms are labelled according to the end

destination (e.g. Direzione Famagosta). Where a line separates, check the train's destination to be

sure you're on the right branch. 'FS' in a name signifies a mainline railway station.

Trams and buses run busily around the city. Their stops are clearly marked by the side of the street;

stops are listed on the sign, with an arrow to show direction of travel. A map comes in handy for

working out the location of the stops listed. Take care when getting on or off trams (or driving behind

them); they are sometimes constrained to stop for passengers, level with the signpost, with enough

space for vehicles to pass between the tram and the pavement.

HOLIDAY INN MILAN GARIBALDI STATION

Via Ugo Bassi 1/A angolo C. Farini

20159, Milan

Tel: +39 02 6076801 (or call +31 62 78 988 41 in case further assistance needed)

Check in time: 14:00

Check out time: 12:00

The Holiday Inn Hotel Garibaldi Station is located in the business district of Milan, close to the old city

and to the fair ground. It is situated near “Stazione Garibaldi” which is two stops away from Central

Station (both are on Metro line 2, the Green Line on the Metro map). To reach the hotel from

“Staziona Garibaldi” leave the Station following the signs to exit "Passante Ferroviario" and “Via

Guglielmo Pepe”. Proceed for about 400 meters on “Via Guglielmo Pepe” (sometimes referred to as

simply “Via Pepe") until the end of the street. On your right hand side you will find the “Holiday Inn

Milan Garibaldi Station”. See the walk from the station to the hotel on the map.

From the “Holiday Inn Garibaldi Station” you can easily access all Lombardy airports. You can reach

all sights, the fair ground, museums, theatres and shopping areas in the centre either walking or

through a short ride with public transport. The underground from “Stazione Garibaldi” connects you

quickly with the centre. The nearest tram lines that connect with the city are numbers 29 and 30, not

far from the hotel. Tram 4 and 11, and Bus lines 51, 70 and 41 stop right in front the hotel. Please ask

at the Hotel reception for more detailed and up to date information.

WEATHER IN OCTOBER

The climate in Milan is typically Mediterranean, with high temperatures and sunny days in the summer

and colder, damper weather in the winter. Milan's low seasons tend to fall between April to June and

September to October. Since temperatures are lower than in the summer October is usually quite

pleasant.

Average Temperature (°C)

30

22

15

8

0

Jan 1.0

Feb 3.0

Mar 7.0

Apr 10.0

May 15.0

Jun 19.0

Jul 22.0

Aug 21.0

Sep 18.0

Oct 12.0

Nov 6.0

Dec 2.0

ELECTRICAL CURRENT

The electrical current in Italy is 220 volts. Wall outlets take plugs with two rounded prongs.

INTERNET

The “Holiday Inn Garibaldi Station” provides Internet connections both in the rooms and in the

business centres. The hotel has two internet areas. One is located in the hall, the other close to the

meeting rooms. The hotel sells prepaid cards to be used at the business centres or from your laptops.

There is no wireless connection in the hotel but the hotel lends cables that can be used to connect

your private laptops in the rooms.

COSTS

The registration fee covers the accommodation and meals according to your agreements made with

the CHI Secretariat upon your registration for the event. All costs outside this agreement have to be

covered by you. This includes all costs for room service and bar.

VENUES

This year‟s European Regional Consultation will be held at several different venues.

The Opening Day of the Consultation will be held at the historical Palazzo Visconti Socrea (Via Cino

del Duca, 8), a unique events facility in the heart of Milan. The beautiful palace owes its birth to Carlos

Bolanos, a leader among the Spanish Counts Bolanos, who commissioned this family building in the

XVII century. Palazzo Visconti is one of the most elegant examples of the Lombard Baroque.

Transport to Palazzo Visconti Socrea will be provided from the Holiday Inn hotel and back.

Tuesday 6 October and Wednesday 7 October will be held at the conference facilities of the “Hotel

Holiday Inn Garibaldi Station”. For these two days, the conference rooms “Farini” and “Lambertenghi”

are booked. You will find sign posts within the hotel to guide you to the meeting rooms.

MEALS

Italy is famous for its beautiful “cucina”. The Italian food and drink will definitely be an added pleasure

to your stay in Milan. Additionally good food is the best fuel for good interactions and networking.

Telefono Azzurro has taken this into consideration when organising the banqueting for the event.

If not agreed upon individually, the full conference package encloses three breakfasts, all lunches and

coffee breaks throughout the workshops from Monday to Wednesday, 5-7 October, and two Dinners

on Monday and Tuesday evening.

Breakfasts will be served at the Hotel “Holiday Inn Garibaldi Station”.

Coffee and lunch on Monday will be served at the “Palazzo Visconti Socrea”. On Monday evening

Telefono Azzurro will host you for a Gala Dinner at the beautiful Museo Nazionale Della Scienza E

Tecnologia. The Museum is housed in an early 16th century monastery and is named after Leonardo

Da Vinci, the extraordinary Renaissance intellect who mastered art, science and technology.

Transport between the Museum and the “Holiday Inn Garibaldi Station” will be provided.

On Tuesday coffee and lunch will be served at the “Holiday Inn Garibaldi Station”. After your visit to

Telefono Azzurro and the sightseeing tour you will have dinner at a typical Milanese restaurant close

to the hotel.

On Wednesday 7 October both coffee breaks and lunch will be served at the hotel.

PROGRAM

Monday 5 October: 09:00 – 11:00

Opening Ceremony

Telefono Azzurro has managed to invite a great number of important guests to attend the first day of

the Regional Consultation. Throughout the Opening Session we all will be together at the Palazzo

Visconti Socrea.

Monday 5 October: 11:00 – 11:30

Poster Presentation and Coffee

You are invited to bring posters and other info materials to introduce your child helpline service to the

conference delegates. Palazzo Visconti Socrea is a historic building so we are not allowed to pin-up

posters at the walls. Just outside the room of the Opening Ceremony you will find tables that you can

use to display your material. Coffee will be available throughout this session so feel free to grab a

cup, stroll around and have a chat with your colleagues from all over Europe.

For the rest of the day Telefono Azzurro will carry out workshops together with their national partners

in Italian language. The CHI membership will convene in a separate room. You will find sign posts in

the Palazzo Visconti Socrea to guide you to the meeting rooms.

Monday 5 October: 11:30 – 12:00

Conference Orientation

In this session, the Organising Team of the Secretariat will quickly run you through all the logistical

details of the event. Although this information package contains most of the needed information, we

will clarify issues such as the transfer between the hotel and the location of the Gala Dinner, the visit

to Telefono Azzurro, the sightseeing tour, the reimbursement of your transfer ticket between the

airport and the hotel, lunch, coffee breaks and possible modifications in the program. Please save all

your related questions for this session. We are happy to answer them there.

Monday 5 October: 12:00 – 13:00

Task Force Update

After the International Consultation in Jordan (2008) the new Advocacy and PSP (Principles,

Standards, Practices) Task Forces have started their work. At the end of this document, you find a

detailed overview of their activities and discussions. In this session, the European Task Force

representatives would like to collect your feedback to assist them in the upcoming meetings.

Monday 5 October: 14:00 – 17:30

Shape The Future Of Child Helpline International From A European Perspective

Introduction

Since its inception in 2003, CHI ran through two major strategic periods. The first strategic period from

2003-2006 had its main focus on the establishment and growth of an international network of child

helplines. The second strategic period from 2007-2010 focussed on the consolidation of the network

and the services provided by the Secretariat. At the moment CHI is preparing the third stage with the

development of its strategy 2011-2015.

With the international network growing and the issues relevant for the CHI membership diversifying,

this third strategic period will incorporate regionally specific needs and recommendations into its

overall strategy. Therefore, CHI is excited to use the opportunity of the “III European Regional

Consultation” to discuss the strategic direction and activities of the network from a regionally specific

point of view. We look forward to your important input into this session which will enable us to develop

services relevant and beneficial to your daily work.

The Workshop

The objective of this workshop is to collect as much information and feedback as possible from your

point of view related to CHI‟s current strategic objectives and activities. Moreover you can suggest

additional activities you would like CHI to include into its portfolio. Therefore your active participation

and input are crucial. In a nutshell we would like you to tell us:

What do you want Child Helpline International to do in the coming years?

Important hereby is to cross check the discussed activities according to their influence on your daily

work, not only in terms of additional benefits but as well of additional contributions. For that reason

please always bear in mind:

What would be your possible and feasible level of engagement into these activities?

Throughout the workshop you will be given the opportunity to work both in groups and individually.

The results of this session will feed into the development of the upcoming overall strategy of CHI and

therefore directly shape the future of our network. Hence we would like to encourage you to discuss

this opportunity with your colleagues prior to your departure to Milan and form an opinion on CHI‟s

past performance as well as your wishes for the future. We understand that the time allocated to this

session is limited. Therefore we will leave the flip charts and other working documents of this session

accessible throughout the entire conference in case you would like to add contributions at a later

stage.

Facilitators:

Mieke Schuurman (Consultant for European Affairs, Former Secretary General EURONET), Peter

Irgens (BRIS, Sweden, European Representative on the CHI Supervisory Board), Eva Kerpel (Kek

Vonal, Hungary, European Representative on the CHI PSP Task Force), Maggie Lazaridis (The

Smile Of The Child, Greece, European Representative on the CHI Advocacy Task Force).

Tuesday 6 October: 09:00 – 09:30

Open Space Session - Concentric Circle:

“Open Space” represents a self-organising process where workshop participants construct the

agenda during the meeting itself. Open Space sessions should serve two main purposes. Firstly it

should give an opportunity to incorporate issues that are not covered by the conference agenda.

Secondly they lend themselves perfectly for breaking the ice in multinational meetings in which

participants have to get familiar with one another.

Open Space meetings have a single facilitator who initiates and concludes the meeting and explains

the general method. The facilitator has no other role in the meeting and does not control the actual

gathering in any way.

At the beginning of this Open Space session participants will sit in a circle. Participants willing to raise

a topic will come to the centre of the circle, write it on a sheet of paper and announce it to the group

before placing it on a flip chart.

To be prepared for this session, please review the latest program of the conference prior to your

departure and discuss it within your organisation. This will help you to identify possible additional

topics that could be raised throughout the Open Space session. Throughout the Concentric Circle you

are welcome to raise both, issues you would like to share and present on and topics you would like to

know more about. All contributions are welcome!

After all topics have been introduced and explained the participants will be asked to indicate their

interest to attend one session or another through show of hands. Once the groups are identified they

will quickly come together to discuss about the where, who and how of their session which will then

be added as additional information to the flip chart. The flip chart will eventually become the agenda

for the meetings that will take place on Wednesday morning between 09:00 and 10:30. Each group

has to identify one volunteer to briefly report back the highlights of the groups work into the plenum

after the session.

Please bear in mind:

Even after you have chosen to participate in a particular workshop you have the right to move around

as you like. If you feel you have landed in a situation from which you cannot learn anything or to which

you cannot contribute anything: use your own two feet to walk to a more appropriate place. Feel free

to walk around to look and discuss what is going on in other groups and join in when you like it.

Tuesday 6 October: 09:30 – 11:00

Social Networking For Child Helplines

After the “II European Regional Consultation for child helplines” in Romania in 2007, CHI received

requests from member organisations to provide a platform addressing issues related to New

Communication Technologies. Consequently, a pilot working group consisting of these organisations

has been launched in 2008. The group has met twice so far and discussed issues like Social

Networking, Virtual Realities and other technology topics related to child helplines.

One outcome of these group meetings was the recommendation to the Secretariat to develop an

online Social Network for child helplines. This network should enable a regular exchange on

technology issues amongst the CHI membership. Furthermore it should provide options for open

discussions, sharing relevant information and offer opportunities for child helplines to display their

own services.

Throughout this session the newly developed CHI Social Network will be launched and its

functionalities explained. You will receive an invitation to join this network together with some basic

user guidelines right after this session. A network only becomes a network with people networking.

Therefore the success of this online network highly depends on your usage and active participation.

Consequently the purpose of this session will be to display the basic features of this website and to

enable you to use it right away. Please use this opportunity to ask questions and seek clarifications

for your queries regarding the usage of this site so that you, your colleagues and your entire child

helpline service can benefit from its opportunities.

Facilitator: Jorik Korenromp

Having worked as “Innovation Manager” for Royal KPN, the incumbent telecom operator in the

Netherlands for many years, Jorik Korenromp is currently providing independent consultancy services

for different companies such as Sanoma Magazines and HP. Specialized in new media and using

new media to accomplish companies‟ goals he operates where technology meets business and

marketing. Since autumn 2008 Jorik Korenromp has advised CHI in its endeavour to address the field

of New Communication Technologies in relation to child helplines. His first contact with the work of

CHI was made through YONECO, our Malawian member organisation, which he assisted in the

setting-up and maintenance of its child helpline service.

Tuesday 6 October: 11:15 – 13:00

Skype And Child Helplines

Throughout last year the Secretariat received several requests to address the issue of VoIP (Voice

over Internet Protocol) services in relation to child helplines. VoIP is a technology used to make

telephone calls via the internet. In general this technology enables phone conversations from

computer to computer but as well from computer to fixed or mobile phone lines.

Skype is one of the best known and most downloaded VoIP applications and is used by young people

all over the world. A possible cooperation between CHI and Skype bears various opportunities for

child helplines, especially in Europe. But what exactly is Skype and how does it work? What are the

exact opportunities and what are the challenges, especially when talking about child helpline

services?

This session will shine light on the above and many other questions you might have when thinking

about the combination of VoIP and your child helpline service. Please use this unique occasion for

first hand discussions with representatives form Skype Technologies S.A., the company behind

Skype.

Facilitators:

Jacqueline Marshall

Manager CSR Program

Skype Technologies S.A.

Martin Rand

Product Manager

Skype Technologies S.A.

Tuesday 6 October: 14:00 – 18:00

Visit To Telefono Azzurro Call Centre and Guided Sightseeing Tour

Details of this afternoon will be shared with you in the Conference Orientation session on Monday 5

October by the Organising Team.

Wednesday 7 October: 09:00 – 10:30

Open Space

The actual workshops, meetings, presentations, discussions, etc, as agreed in the Concentric Circle

on Tuesday morning will take place now. We hope you get inspired and enjoy a fruitful exchange of

knowledge, ideas, opinions, business cards, data or other information. Remember: You are free to

change groups in case you feel like it.

Wednesday 7 October: 10:30 – 11:00

Feedback and Conclusions

This session will bring the different groups from the Open Space back into the plenum. One spokes

person per working group will share the outcomes and highlights of their respective groups. This will

create additional synergy amongst the groups and further actions can be discussed.

Wednesday 7 October: 11:15 – 13:00

Child Impact Assessment

Over 14 million children have called child helplines around the world last year. More than half of these

calls came from children in Europe. This high number can be interpreted as success and proof that

child helplines are accepted as important tools for assistance by children.

It is understood that child helplines do a great job in being available for children that seek a listening

ear. However, many people working for child helplines have questions like:

- What happens after the conversation?

- Are we making a real difference in a child‟s life?

- What is the difference in impact between telephone counselling and online counselling?

These questions might as well be asked by possible donors and sponsors of child helplines. Yet, they

are difficult to answer; even more so because child helplines focus a lot on prevention. But how do

you measure events that did not happen thanks to your intervention?

We need to get a better understanding of the exact impact child helpline services have on the lives of

children and young people. Child helplines have expressed the need to develop systematic processes

to assess and measure this impact. Eventually this will help to facilitate better planning,

implementation and evaluation of child helpline services.

The purpose of this workshop is to collect an overview of good practices of child helplines on these

issues. Moreover it will introduce results of a study carried out by the University of Amsterdam and will

ask you to jointly discuss opportunities for further action of the network.

Facilitator: Ruben Fukkink

Ruben Fukkink is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the

University of Amsterdam. He carried out a study for the Dutch child helpline on children‟s experiences

with „De Kindertelefoon‟ and compared support over telephone with support over chat. Ruben Fukkink

also assisted the Secretariat analysing the data collected from the membership for the Connecting to

Children publication.

Wednesday 7 October: 14:00 – 13:00

European Quality Standards And 116 111

At this moment, the European harmonised number 116 111 has been assigned to child helplines in 17

European countries. Now that more and more countries are actually starting to use this number,

certain questions have to be addressed by the content providers of the service. What does it really

mean to share a number with many other organisations? Do we all understand the same when we

think of 116 111? How can we ensure to provide certain minimum quality standards on a wider

regional level?

The purpose of this session is to start this important discussion, to share hopes and fears and get a

common understanding of the responsibilities that come with operating 116 111. A small panel

comprising of three very different child helpline services will start this discussion which will later be

opened up to the whole group.

On the panel:

Catalina Florea (Executive Director of Telefonul Copilului in Romania), Lee Mitchell (Assistant

Director Services for children and young people, NSPCC/Childline UK) and Ernesto Caffo (President

of Telefono Azzurro, Italy).

Facilitator:

Leen Decadt (Head of Programs, CHI Secretariat)

UP-DATE FROM THE SUPERVISORY BOARD

Dear European members!

Just less than a year has passed since Amman, where I became your Regional Representative on the

CHI Supervisory Board. During this time I have had at least one monthly telephone meeting with the

European Program Manager at the Secretariat, where update each other and discuss current issues.

On top of the list have been things like:

- Communication with the European Commission on the European harmonised number for child

helplines 116 111;

- The preparation of the funding application for EU-/ Daphne grants for 2009, which in the

meantime has turned out to be successful;

- Membership criteria and the 2009 round of Data & PSP checklist collections;

- Different issues relevant to the individual country work of the Secretariat;

- and recently, much work has been directed to preparing for this Regional Consultation.

Additionally we have also started having quarterly telephone meetings with the European Task force

representatives, to exchange information and better coordinate the efforts for the region.

The Supervisory Board has met once (March 2009) since the International Consultation in Amman.

The first day was reserved for the hand-over from the outgoing to the incoming board members and

up-dates from the Secretariat. The second day produced the more formal meeting, where the agenda

had items like:

1. Annual report & financials for 2008;

2. Annual plan & budget for 2009;

3. Membership processes for new members and other membership related issues. Three European

members were approved full membership throughout this meeting. The “SOS 1209” Hotline from

Bosnia & Herzegovina officially joined CHI that day. The “Nadja Centre Foundation” from

Bulgaria and “Lapsemure” from Estonia were promoted from Associate membership;

4. The sponsorship protocols for CHI events;

5. Approval of “Telefono Anar” from Spain as host for the International Consultation 2010.

The next SB-meeting will be held 20 October. This meeting will be dominated by CHI‟s future

strategy. Therefore I encourage you to actively participate in the session “Shape The Future Of Child

Helpline International From A European Perspective” in the afternoon of the Opening Day at the

Regional Consultation.

I very much look forward to seeing you all in Milan!

Peter Irgens

CHI Regional Representative for Europe

BRIS, Sweden

UP-DATE FROM THE PSP TASK FORCE

The PSP (Principles, Standards, Practices) Task Force met in April.

1. A parallel initiative by the Supervisory Board and myself was to indicate in communication the

inclusive nature of CHI: when CHI is mentioned the members are understood, and when we talk

about the Secretariat, it will be called the Secretariat, not CHI.

2. The PSP Task Force initiated a higher level of cooperation with the other Task Force(s) –

currently there is only one other, the Advocacy Task Force, and the Data advisory group. Many

topics are discussed parallel in both Task Forces so it will be useful to coordinate the decisions.

Accordingly Task Force minutes will be shared and the improvement of the Glossary that so far

has been edited only by the Advocacy Task Force alone will now be a joint responsibility of both

Task Forces.

3. The PSP Task Force will be involved in any issue concerning the professional work of the

helplines.

4. The PSP checklists will be used to analyse the needs of the helplines and the Task Force is

invited to act upon the ideas by the members expressed through the PSP checklist or in other

ways.

More in depth analysis of the checklists is needed, concentrating on regional and sub-regional

specifics. To facilitate this, an intern is included in the work in the summer, and the Task Force

members have agreed to have a look at the checklists of their regions while ensuring

confidentiality. Any publication/communication of findings from the checklists will need the consent

of the relevant member organization.

5. In order to facilitate higher participation of members in the actions of CHI and quicker responses

by the Secretariat, there is a suggestion that the membership should consider having the

international consultations less frequently, (e.g. every 4-5 years) and in this way free up resources

for more frequent regional, sub-regional and thematic meetings. Decisions requiring General

Assembly votes could be made by casting votes in e-mail. This idea should be discussed at the

RC.

6. As from 2009 members are asked to send their annual reports to the Secretariat. The information

that is collected from the members will be used for advocacy purposes therefore meeting the

minimum standards for annual reports published in the Good Governance manual is highly

desirable. Any member needing assistance in this can get is from the Secretariat.

7. The Task Force discussed the need for screening procedures for employees and volunteers

working at the helplines. As there are very different ways of screening the Task Force decided to

collect the views, experience, opinions of the members before asking for evidence on any such

procedures at the helplines.

8. Ever since CHI was formed there has been much debate on membership criteria. An earlier

recommendation of the PSP Task Force was to accept 3 criteria for full membership: to pay the

membership fee; to fill in Data proforma; to fill in the PSP checklist.

This recommendation has not been approved by the earlier Board of CHI and was not put into

action prior to 2009.

The recommendation of the newly formed PSP Task Force is to make sure that these

requirements are known and understood by the members and to provide further assistance to

those who have difficulties meeting these criteria. At the same time members who regularly do not

respond to these requests will be asked for explanation.

The Task Force did not decide on the way to proceed, who and how will process the information

on members not meeting these requirements. Further elaboration by the Task Force will be

needed on this topic.

As to membership criteria, the Task Force needs to make further recommendations, concentrating

more on the professional quality of the actual helpline work. Such criteria are, to some extent,

already used when assessing new applicants.

9. From the low number of initiatives it is apparent that members are still not sufficiently informed on

the opportunity of getting support from CHI funds for peer exchanges, visits to each other or joint

programs. Task Force members along with the Secretariat will need to promote this possibility of

bi- or multilateral cooperation to the members.

10. Some manuals and training materials (Counseling, Advocacy, Building your child helpline) need

to be completed/ updated, Task Force members contribute to this.

11. There are too many differences among the members in the understanding of child participation

as a concept and the current practices of child participation. Further discussion is necessary on

this topic by members at the regional consultation and in other forms.

12. A standard question on CHI‟s work is: what sort of impact it has on the lives of children. An impact

assessment is necessary but it is hard to decide in what way this can be measured. The two

steps of assessment can be:

a. CHI impact on member helpline services;

b. Member helplines‟ impact on children‟s lives.

Task Force members will recommend indicators for the first one. The latter is hard to measure as

well, Task Force members will collect ideas and return to this point at the next meeting.

13. The next meeting of the PSP Task Force will be on October 12-13, 2009.

Throughout the Regional Consultation in Milan we will have a one hour session dedicated to the work

of the Task Forces. I will get in contact with you directly to provide you with some additional

information regarding this session.

Eva Kerpel

European Representative and Chair of PSP Task Force

Kek Vonal, Hungary

UP-DATE FROM THE ADVOCACY TASK FORCE

1. Corporal Punishment

It was discussed if CHI should get more involved in Advocacy issues related to corporal

punishment. To facilitate a decision on this topic the Advocacy Task Force will

a. Carry out a mapping regarding the specific situation in the different countries and collect

information on how many countries actually have laws banning corporal punishment and what

they exactly look like;

b. Prepare a discussion paper that will be presented to the Supervisory Board to get a decision

on the way forward;

c. First steps should be to have a discussion on the issue in the network and work towards a

common understanding and stance.

2. Advocacy Manual

A draft version of the Advocacy Manual has been compiled. The Secretariat hopes the finish the

narrative before the end of the year. It should then be published by the end of quarter 1 of 2010.

3. May 17

International Child Helpline Day will be celebrated again next year on 17 May. We would like to

invite you to celebrate the day and promote your child helpline and the network with partners,

stakeholders and children.

4. November 20

The Task Force discussed CHI‟s role in the annual UNCRC celebrations on November 20. It was

decided to explore ways in which the network can start to celebrate the Convention in a concerted

manner. The Secretariat will explore ways to do so.

5. Data collection

To make better use of the annual data collection of the membership it was decided to publish

additional factsheets summarising highlights and annual and regional trends.

6. Impact assessment study

To better know and display the effect of child helplines on children and to better support

awareness raising and fundraising initiatives of the network and its members a needs assessment

study needs to be carried out. Therefore

a. The Secretariat will collect information about existing initiatives from within and outside of the

CHI the membership as a first step;

b. The information will be used to implement an impact assessment study of child helplines

under the direction of the PSP Task Force.

I look forward to meeting you all in Milan.

Maggie Lazaridis

European Representative on the CHI Advocacy Task Force

The Smile Of The Child, Greece