On March 31st AMBER Alert Slovakia has been launched in Bratislava. Europe’s first cross-border child rescue alert ensures that not only Slovak, but also endangered missing children and child alerts in neighboring countries, are automatically displayed on the website of AMBER Alert Slovakia

The Slovak National Ministry and Police joined forces with AMBER Alert Europe and UNICEF to save the lives of endangered missing children. With the use of the cross-border child rescue alert, based on the successful AMBER Alert Netherlands system, not only Slovak, but also endangered missing children and child alerts in neighboring countries, such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Hungary, are automatically displayed on the website of AMBER Alert Slovakia. By transcending borders, the chances of these children being found alive and well increase dramatically.

“I am very proud and excited about this launch”, says Frank Hoen, founder of AMBER Alert Europe. “This cross-border rescue alert is a step in the right direction for European countries to work together to find endangered missing children. Hopefully it will inspire other countries to do the same.”

The Slovak AMBER Alert is supported by the local media, internet providers, mobile phone companies, transport companies and other partners from private and non-profit organizations.  “This cross-border child rescue alert would not have been possible without the help of our partners”, says Unicef’s Tana Ivanic, project coordinator of AMBER Alert Slovakia. “Also a special thanks to the whole team of AMBER Alert Slovakia for their hard work, as well as the team of AMBER Alert Europe for their support and help during the implementation of this sophisticated child rescue system”, continuous Ivanic. “Lastly, a big thank you to Petra Binkova, Senior Security Officer of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, for her assistance. I am looking forward to our future cooperation”, concludes Ivanic.

AMBER Alert Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the AMBER Alert system is used by the police to instantly alert 12 million people when a child goes missing and is feared to be in immediate danger. The system uses any available media – including TV, radio, highway signs, text messages, email, website banners, advertising screens, PC screensavers, smartphone apps and social media – and is used about 200 times a year for both AMBER Alerts and other endangered missing children cases.