As a non-profit organization, Netork for Children’s Rights (NCR)has been active since 2004 with the aim of promoting and safeguarding the rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC – 1989). The vision of the Network is a world where all children, without exception, grow up healthy, protected, and happy, where they develop their personality, their views are taken into account, and all their rights are fully implemented.
The NCR has extensive experience and expertise on issues related to children and their rights, including child protection, non-formal education, support for children and young people (and their families), psychosocial support for children belonging to vulnerable social groups (e.g. unaccompanied minors, refugees), training of professionals working with children, and environmental protection (as a good intertwined with children’s rights).
Specifically, the NCR action is based on five main pillars:
1. Support, information, and empowerment of children, adolescents, and youth in two main creative spaces: the Culture Workshop (ages 6–12) and the Youth Center (adolescents and young people).
2. Educational programs (approved by the Institute of Educational Policy [IEP]) in schools throughout Greece, at all levels (Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary, High School), on topics such as: children’s rights/human rights, environment, democratic and European values, social issues, etc.
3. Training of teachers in pedagogical tools and methodologies to support and protect children and cultivate respect for their rights.
4. Protection and integration of unaccompanied minors, through:
o Info desk & Mobile Unit & Case Management team for identifying vulnerable children
5. Advocacy and research on children and the implementation of their rights.
Through its programs, NCR contributes to the mental health and empowerment of children by providing (with a focus on vulnerable groups) psychosocial support and access to innovative non-formal education activities, as well as cultural and creative initiatives. At the same time, it gives children a voice and a platform to express their opinions. With this approach, children develop skills, understand, claim, and experience their rights.
In parallel, through awareness-raising initiatives and advocacy efforts, NCR mobilizes and defends children’s rights, pressing relevant institutions to respect and implement them.
The Network’s programs are widely recognized, both nationally and at the European level. Some operate under the auspices of the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic, the Municipality of Athens, and the Ministry of Culture, and are considered established good practices.
• The Center for the Child program, within the framework of the TEBA accompanying measures of the Municipality of Athens, was included in the European Commission’s best practices in 2019 and was presented by the German Presidency to the EU.
• The Young Journalists – Migratory Birds program was highlighted as a best integration practice in the Council of Europe’s publication “Promoting child-friendly approaches in the area of migration: standards, guidance and current practice” (12/2019).
NCR’s Children’s Lending Library has been honored twice (2015 & 2022) with the award of the Greek section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY – Greek Children’s Book Circle).
In January 2021, NCR was selected by the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, along with UNHCR, and since then it has been a key partner of the National Mechanism for the Identification and Protection of Unaccompanied Children in Precarious Conditions. This program received the second European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) in the annual best practice competition on human trafficking prevention organized by the EUCPN, aiming at exchanging and disseminating experiences and knowledge on best practices for crime prevention and improving security across EU member states.
NCR has also been awarded the Nisides Quality Award for its overall work and specifically for its advocacy leading to the creation of the Children’s Ombudsperson institution in Greece, at a time when such a body did not yet exist.
