AMBER Alert allows Facebook users to receive specific alerts on their timelines whenever a child is abducted or is reported missing and is at imminent risk of harm.

The initiative was launched during a joint press conference held today at the Police HQ, presided over by the Minister of Justice, Félix Braz, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Security, Francine Closener and Emily Vacher, Facebook’s Trust & Safety Director. Through this cooperation, the partners hope to inform even more people as quickly as possible when the police issue an AMBER Alert.

An AMBER Alert is an emergency message the police issues when a child is abducted or has gone missing, and the police fears that the life or health of the child is in danger. From now on, Facebook users in Luxembourg will automatically receive an AMBER Alert in their news feed. The message contains a photograph and vital information that will assist the public in locating the child. When users press ‘Learn More’, they will access more detailed information that can help retrieving the missing child as swiftly as possible. This may include the make and model of any vehicle involved in the abduction. The users can also share the message with their network of friends via the ‘Share’ button.

This initiative is an extremely important collaboration for the immediate, accurate and timely distribution of information to the people in the area of the missing child. Talking about the importance of the AMBER Alert system, Ms. Εmily Vacher, stated: “Keeping our community safe means everything to us at Facebook. And we know that when a child is missing, the most valuable thing we can do is get information out to the public as quickly as possible. By getting the right information to the right people, at the right time, through AMBER Alerts on Facebook, we hope to help reunite missing children with their families faster.”

Felix Braz, Minister of Justice welcomes the new partnership: “The association of AMBER Alert and Facebook in Luxembourg increases exponentially the chance of rapidly finding a missing child as a much wider public can now be reached. This smart cooperation sustains significantly the efforts adopted by the agreement signed between the government and AMBER Alert Europe.”

Francine Closener, Secretary of State for Internal Security: “Given that Facebook is the most widely used social networking site in the world and also in Luxembourg, this new functionality will enable us to make sure that these alerts reach a greater number of people within a very short time. I therefore very much welcome this collaboration with Facebook, which we see as a great enhancement of the emergency alert system.”

Frank Hoen, President of AMBER Alert Europe, who developed AMBER Alert Luxembourg: “This cooperation with Facebook tremendously increases the reach of an AMBER Alert. Following successful launches in Malta and The Netherlands, we are thankful Luxembourg is now joining our cooperation with Facebook as well.”

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Leading organisations like RTL, Wort, Tageblatt, Lëtzebuerger Journal, Le Quotidien, L’essentiel and Radio 100,7 already signed up. See how your organisation can help as well.

Below you will find a selection of the press coverage in Luxembourg:

RTL.lu
5minutes.rtl.lu
Luxemburger Wort
L’Essentiel
Volksfreund

Luxemburg “Amber Alert”. Am Donnerstag ging das System in Betrieb. https://t.co/VjsDYz1yrn pic.twitter.com/m0eB6bRobu

— Felix Braz (@felix_braz) April 28, 2016

Minister of Justice, Félix Braz.

Minister of Justice, Félix Braz, President of AMBER Alert Europe, Frank Hoen, and the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Security, Francine Closener.

The post Luxembourgish Minister and Secretary of State sign up for AMBER Alert Luxembourg – Join now! appeared first on AMBER Alert Luxembourg.

Leading organisations like RTL, Wort, Tageblatt, Lëtzebuerger Journal, Le Quotidien, L’essentiel and Radio 100,7 already signed up. Other organisations and citizens are asked to follow their example and join the search for endangered missing children.

“When the life of a missing child is in imminent danger, every second counts. The more people sign up for AMBER Alert, the greater the chance to quickly recover a missing child. That’s why we call on all citizens and organisations to sign up for AMBER Alert Luxembourg, for example by email, Facebook or Twitter”, says Frank Hoen, President of AMBER Alert Europe.

AMBER Alerts & endangered missing children
A national AMBER Alert is issued when the police fear the life of an abducted or missing child is in imminent danger. In addition to AMBER Alerts, parts of the system will be used to find endangered missing children. A missing child is considered endangered when there is an immediate and significant risk of harm but the case does not reach the criteria for an AMBER Alert.

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg joins forces with AMBER Alert Europe
On January 21^st, the national AMBER Alert system in Luxembourg was announced. Félix Braz, Minister of Justice, and Francine Closener, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Security signed an official agreement with AMBER Alert Europe to set up a national AMBER Alert.

AMBER Alert Netherlands & AMBER Alert Slovensko
Luxembourg is the third country that makes use of the AMBER Alert system provided by AMBER Alert Europe. The system enables countries to quickly involve the public in the search for missing children. Within minutes, the whole country is on the lookout using all available media – including TV, radio, highway signs, text messages, email, website banners, advertising screens, PC screensavers smartphone apps and social media. In the Netherlands, 88% of the Dutch population is informed about an AMBER Alert within minutes.

The post Grand Duchy of Luxembourg launches national AMBER Alert system to save missing children appeared first on AMBER Alert Luxembourg.

AMBER Alert Luxembourg enables the police in Luxembourg to quickly inform citizens when the police fear the life of an abducted or missing child is in imminent danger. In addition to AMBER Alerts, parts of the system will be used to find endangered missing children. A missing child is considered endangered when there is an immediate and significant risk of harm but the case does not reach the criteria for an AMBER Alert.

Below you will find an overview of the press coverage in Luxembourg:

Official press release of the Government of Luxembourg
RTL Luxembourg: including a video that explains how AMBER Alert Luxembourg will work
L’essentiel
Le Jeudi
Tageblatt Lëtzebuerg
Le Quotidien

Francine Closener: Secretary of State, Ministry of Internal Security, Félix Braz: Minister of Justice, Frank Hoen: President AMBER Alert Europe

The post Ministries of Justice and Internal Security in Luxembourg announce national AMBER Alert appeared first on AMBER Alert Luxembourg.

On Thursday January 21^st, Félix Braz, Minister of Justice, and Francine Closener, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Security signed an official agreement with AMBER Alert Europe. Aim of this agreement is to set up a national AMBER Alert and to improve cross border police cooperation to save the lives of missing children.

AMBER Alerts & endangered missing children
AMBER Alert Luxembourg enables the police in Luxembourg to quickly inform citizens when the police fear the life of an abducted or missing child is in imminent danger. In addition to AMBER Alerts, parts of the system will be used to find endangered missing children. A missing child is considered endangered when there is an immediate and significant risk of harm but the case does not reach the criteria for an AMBER Alert.

AMBER Alert Netherlands & AMBER Alert Slovensko
Luxembourg is the third country that will make use of the AMBER Alert system provided by AMBER Alert Europe. The system enables countries to quickly involve the public in the search for missing children. Within minutes, the whole country is on the lookout using all available media – including TV, radio, highway signs, text messages, email, website banners, advertising screens, PC screensavers smartphone apps and social media. In the Netherlands, 88% of the Dutch population is informed about an AMBER Alert within minutes.

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