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Description
The project will upgrade and improve the quality of services provided to unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups through the effective operation of the National Child Protection Hotline. "1107". As a result, E.K.K.A. will be capable of intervening effectively in respect of urgent issues related to the mental, physical and emotional condition of unaccompanied minors. Moreover, unaccompanied minors will be able to express their real concerns regarding the quality of the services they receive as well as issues connected to their cooperation with professionals, institutions and guardians.
The project will include the following main activity:
- Providing interpretation services for unaccompanied minors at EKKA''s National Child Protection Hotline “1107”, including the establishment of both an electronic platform and a call registration management system.
Summary of project results
EKKA’s Child Protection Hotline, “1107,” serves as Greece''s National Child Protection Hotline, dedicated to safeguarding all children in the country. In recent years, increased migratory flows to Greece have led the hotline to receive calls from children seeking assistance in languages such as Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi. This posed challenges for the hotline''s psychologists and social workers, who struggled to address these requests effectively due to language barriers. Unaccompanied Minors (UAMs), as the most vulnerable group, required particular attention. As a result, it became crucial to enhance EKKA’s ChildLine capabilities to meet their urgent needs.
The project was launched to address these challenges by overcoming language barriers that hindered the delivery of adequate social care to UAMs. Its objectives included strengthening EKKA’s ChildLine by employing well-trained personnel specializing in Unaccompanied Minor issues. A key initiative was the hiring of interpreters to facilitate communication and incorporate children’s national and ethnic backgrounds into the hotline’s services. This approach also supported cultural mediation as a tool for identifying, protecting, and integrating asylum seekers and refugees.
Given the linguistic diversity and multicultural backgrounds of Unaccompanied Minors, the project prioritized providing interpretation services in the three most commonly spoken languages—Farsi, Arabic, and Urdu. This ensured effective and prompt management of the reported issues. According to EKKA’s statistics at the time, 39% of UAMs originated from Afghanistan, 22% from Pakistan, 12% from Syria, and 27% from other countries. Among them, 39% spoke Dari Farsi, 22% spoke Urdu, 21% spoke Arabic, and 8% spoke Bengali.
The employment of interpreters, acting as both linguistic and cultural mediators, significantly influenced the outcomes of social care services. Their role ensured successful communication and supported stakeholders in offering UAMs various activities to improve their quality of life in Greece, such as facilitating connections with other public services.
Activity 1- Enhancing the capacity of the staff of the National Child Protection Hotline “1107”- Staff hiring and training
The main activity of the project was the recruitment of 13 employees (6 interpreters, 3 social workers, 2 psychologists, 1 sociologist, 1 administrative staff and 1 ΙΤ systems manager) in order to foster intercultural communication and inclusion of Unaccompanied minors to EKKA’s national ChildLine services.
The employment of the interpreters in the most frequently spoken languages of Unaccompanied Minors, Arabic, farsi and urdu, was deemed necessary, since it could not be covered by the existing staff of EKKA. In addition, psychologists and social workers with previous experience in UAM''s social care were also recruited.
The recruited personnel received vigorous training by social, legal and mental health experts of EKKA, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum as well as of the EUAA, in the following topics:
• “The legal framework on the fundamental rights and the international protection in the EU. UAM’s Vulnerability”,
• “Ethical and Professional Standards, Communication for Asylum and reception Practitioners,
• “Intercultural Mental Health Issues:
• “Case Management of Self Destructive Behaviors” and
• “Multicultural psychiatry and Refugee population”.
The demands related to UAMs interpretation needs were complex and interpreters had to perform a variety of tasks in order to achieve cross-linguistic and cross-cultural relevance. The presence of Interpreters acted as a facilitator for the social care provided by EKKA’s Child line making possible the effective communication, consultation and orientation.
This activity enhanced the operational capacity of the ChildLine, due to the fact that the unaccompanied minors had the opportunity to communicate in their native language so as to express easily their real needs and concerns, as well as to provide feedback related to the services offered to them.
As a result, E.K.K.A. was capable of intervening effectively in respect of urgent issues related to the unaccompanied minors’ mental, physical and emotional condition.
Activity 2 Enhancing technical capacity of the National Child Protection Hotline “1107”
Apart from the additional personnel recruited, the National Child Protection Hotline “1107” was in need of both hardware and software, so as to develop the appropriate tools facilitating both the registration and the management of UAM’s calls. Therefore, an important upgrade of EKKA''s National Child Protection Hotline “1107” equipment was plannedA study from IT experts was performed, which would contribute to the establishment of appropriate technical requirements for the platform, allowing multifaceted communication of unaccompanied minors through the network of social media. Moreover, procurement of relevant hardware and software has been carried out in order to facilitate the communication with the target group, including devices that allow modern three-way communication between an Unaccompanied Minor, an interpreter and a psychologist or social worker, mobile phones and air time and laptops for those involved in the implementation of the project, as well as multi-function office machines for the ChildLine’s and project’s administration support.
Activity 3 Enhancing visibility of the project and sensitization on UAMs issues
A Conference was carried out close to the closure of the implementation period, on the 22 April 2024, in order to make the general public aware of the existence of the EEA and Norway Grants ensure visibility of the project, its achievements, as well as the donors’ contribution. The presentations included: the pre-defined projects funded under EEA Grants, the characteristics of unaccompanied minors’ in Greece (EKKA), the Guidelines for the protection of unaccompanied minors (UNICEF), the psychological support of Unaccompanied Minors-( Babel Day Center Mental Health Unit for Immigrants), NERM’s operation as a best practice in the protection of unaccompanied children in precarious living conditions (Ministry of Migration and Asylum).
The project significantly upgraded and improved the quality of services provided to Unaccompanied Minors (UAMs). The project financed the recruitment of 13 employees (including 2 psychologists, 2 social workers, 6 interpreters (2 each for Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi), 1 sociologist, 1 economist/administrative employee, and 1 IT management systems expert). The recruited staff underwent extensive training, provided by E.K.K.A. staff, the Asylum and Migration Ministry, and the EUAA. This training included two months of on-the-job training focused on N.E.R.M. operations. More than 20 social care professionals participated in the training sessions. Simultaneously, it enhanced the expertise and capacity of the National Center for Social Solidarity (E.K.K.A.) to address the specific needs of UAMs by providing the necessary technical and human resources. The involvement of interpreters and trained personnel greatly strengthened the operational capacity of the Childline (1107). Unaccompanied minors were able to communicate in their native languages, making it easier for them to articulate their genuine needs and concerns, as well as provide feedback on the services they received. A major achievement of the project was the adaptation of the National ChildLine to meet the multicultural realities of vulnerable childhood in Greece by incorporating cultural mediation into its services. Before the implementation of the project, children, who could not speak Greek or at least English, were unable to access the support and psychosocial care offered by the National ChildLine. As a result, E.K.K.A. became more effective in addressing urgent issues related to the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of UAMs. According to E.K.K.A.’s statistics from its call registration system, during 2023 (the year the project staff were recruited), the National ChildLine handled 25% more children’s cases compared to 2022. Furthermore, from May 2023 to April 2024, the project’s staff supported the Emergency Response Line of the National Emergency Response Mechanism (N.E.R.M.), registering and responding to over 100 emergency calls from UAMs during the times when N.E.R.M. was not operational.
Additionally, E.K.K.A. adapted its call management system to enable UAMs to access interpreters directly in their own language. By pressing the appropriate button, language selection options in five languages were made available through the call center.
Lastly, the project’s Closure Conference drew widespread participation from experts on social care issues and executives of relevant stakeholders. Its live English broadcast on E.K.K.A.’s YouTube channel garnered significant interest, with 10,945 views.