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PRESS RELEASE
NEW GLOBAL INTERNET CHANNEL LAUNCHED TO FIND MISSING CHILDREN
The International Centre
For Missing & Exploited
Children Partners
With YouTube And The Find Madeline Campaign
Alexandria, VA – August 10, 2007 – The
International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), in
partnership with Google’s YouTube, and The Find Madeleine Campaign today
announced the creation of a new initiative that will provide worldwide
exposure to information and videos of missing children. A new YouTube
Missing Children’s Channel has been created exclusively for posting
videos of missing children. The new channel can be found at www.youtube.com/DontYouForgetAboutMe and
will be operational today.
Case information and videos of missing children will first be submitted
to ICMEC for review and verification before posting on the new channel. ICMEC
will work with analysts at the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children (NCMEC), local and national law enforcement on U.S. cases, and
with Interpol on international cases to confirm it is an open case and
verify the details of the case and video. After the case information
has been certified, it will be forwarded to YouTube for posting. Anyone
with information about a missing child featured on the website will be
directed to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.
“Every year hundreds of thousands of children go missing around
the world and some are abducted to other countries, creating unique challenges
for law enforcement and family members searching for them,” said
Ernie Allen, President and CEO of ICMEC. “In the U.S. alone, nearly
800,000 children are missing each year or about 2,000 each day. Photos
remain the single most effective tool for finding a missing child. This
new resource will provide unprecedented exposure for missing children,
reaching potentially millions of viewers every day and increasing the
opportunity that someone has seen them.”
The timing of the announcement coincides with the 100th day since Madeleine
McCann went missing. Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007 while
on a family vacation in Portugal. This past June, Madeleine’s
parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, sought ICMEC’s assistance to create
an international resource that would quickly disseminate pictures of
missing children throughout the world. Gerry McCann recently visited
the headquarters of NCMEC and ICMEC in Virginia where he and Allen discussed
the need for disseminating information and images of missing children
on a broader, global basis.
“Kate and I are really enthusiastic about this powerful new resource,” said
Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s father. “We believe it will
help in the search for Madeleine and many other children. We are
grateful to ICMEC for its leadership on behalf of our child and so many
others.”
YouTube, which is owned by Google, is a popular video sharing website
and leader in online video. Its popularity and global reach made
YouTube a natural choice as a partner in this project. The channel’s
headline banner, “Don’t You Forget About Me,” is named
after the hit song by the Scottish rock group “Simple Minds.”
In addition to information and videos of missing children, the channel
will include child safety and educational materials in several languages
as well as Public Service Announcements and messages from dignitaries,
celebrities and others including First Lady Laura Bush and soccer star
David Beckham.
There will be no cost to post a video of a missing child on the new
channel. Instructions and criteria for submitting a video can be
found on the channel site or www.icmec.org. No incomplete or anonymous
submissions will be accepted.
The International
Centre for Missing & Exploited Children is
a private, nonprofit 501(c) (3) nongovernmental organization. It is the
leading agency working on a global basis to combat child abduction and
exploitation. It is the sister organization of the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children.
ICMEC Contact:
703-837-6111
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