On Wednesday, October 16, 2024, the Ninth Professional Conference “Safety and Responsibility 2024” took place at the Metropol Hotel in Belgrade, organized by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, with the support of the Embassy of the United States in Serbia.
The conference was opened by Igor Jurić, founder and president of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children; the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, His Excellency Christopher Hill; and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dačić.
Igor Jurić stated that he expects state support for the “Uključi se” program, which focuses on working with children with behavioral issues: “We had the ‘Ribnikar’ incident last year, and it seems to me that not enough was done following that tragedy. We want to work systematically and seriously with children who have behavioral issues and with their parents. This should be a pilot project in Novi Sad, for which we are fully prepared, and later this project can expand nationwide,” Jurić said, noting that the introduction of the program would yield results in preventing peer violence.
Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić emphasized that the safety of children and students in schools is a priority and extremely important task, and that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is doing everything it can to enhance safety and protect the youngest generations: “I believe the key word in this discussion is responsibility. The responsibility that rests on all of us, adults, which must remind us every day that parents and other adults are role models,” Minister Dačić stated.
Ambassador Christopher Hill stressed that every child deserves a safe childhood and protection, and that everyone agrees with this idea: “The right of children to have a safe childhood is something they receive at birth, and our task is to ensure that they really have such a childhood,” Hill said at the opening of the Conference.
Following the introductory speeches, the premiere performance of the song “Čuvaj me” by Neverne Bebe, specifically composed for this event, took place.
The first topic of this year’s Conference began with a panel discussion on “Recognition and Intervention in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse,” featuring: Dušan Vuković, clinical psychologist and court expert from the Institute for Health Care of Children and Youth of Vojvodina; Miroslav Jovanović, head of the Human Trafficking Victim Protection Coordination Service from the Center for Victim Protection; Christina Shultz, social worker and forensic interviewer at the Palomar Health Child Advocacy Center in San Diego; and Jing-Lan Lee, deputy district attorney from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office in California. The panel discussion was moderated by Timea Kukla, representing the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Christina Shultz and Jing-Lan Lee, participants in the first panel discussion, subsequently delivered lectures on “Understanding and Preventing Child Sexual Abuse,” each from their field of work.
The second part of the Conference focused on the safety of children on the internet, featuring three lectures by David Wright, CEO of Safety and Security Online; Jan Machowski from Google; and Slobodan Negić from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The final segment of the Conference was also in the form of a panel discussion on “Prevention and Addressing Behavioral Problems in Children,” moderated by Dr. Jovana Škorić, with participation from: Olivera Zečević, head of the Department for Prevention and Suppression of Juvenile Delinquency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia; Jelena Zorić, director of the Social Work Center in Novi Sad; Aleksandar Markov, president of the Forum of Belgrade Gymnasiums; and Slobodan Arsenijević, special educator and psychotherapist, member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Each topic was preceded by a short performance that enriched the entire event. This segment was presented in a multimedia format, combining film and theater, directed by actor Vladimir Grbić.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to all the speakers who helped us better understand current issues and shared their experiences and best practices that we can apply in our future work. We also thank all the guests who attended the Conference and enhanced this event with their presence, showing motivation and readiness to contribute to our shared mission of improving the position and safety of children in our country. We hope that the shared experiences have inspired our guests to become agents of change and that.