The International Be-Free Award for Achievements and Best Practices in the Field of Child Protection:
In an effort to encourage different sectors of the society to work towards child protection; the Be-Free program launched the Be-Free Center’s International Award for Best practices in child abuse protection and prevention. The award encompassed three categories: Governmental institutions that work directly or indirectly with children (such as schools, hospitals, etc.), Non-governmental organizations and Children and youth (less than 18 years old).
The preparation of a comprehensive study on the role of Arab civil societies in child protection:
Since its launch; the Be-Free program conducted various studies related to childhood. As a step forward; the program worked to make its expertise available to organizations interested in children's affairs such as the Arab Civil Society Forum for Children. In this regard the Be-Free program prepared a study on the role of Arab civil societies in relation to children, the present awareness levels on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the availability of legal and institutional structure to support its implementation, the data necessary to plan and enforce its terms in addition to the extent of children’s involvement in the mentioned steps.
Broadening communication channels through social media networks:
The Be-Free program established new channels of communication with its audiences through social networking websites. The program has uploaded more than 1180 pictures of its activities, established a channel on YouTube to present its visual productions and placed basic information about the program on Wikipedia. The program has also been communicating with the public through its Facebook page and its Twitter account where weekly tweets continue to be posted.
The launch of the "I am a Strong, Smart and Safe Child in spite of my Disability" Program:
The launch of the "I am a Strong, Smart and Safe Child in spite of my Disability" program under the auspices of the Special Rapporteur on Disability of the United Nations - Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Thani. The program aims to protect children and youth challenged by disabilities from various types of abuse. The program covered four types of disabilities/impairments: minor mental disabilities, motor disabilities, visual impairment and hearing impairment. It is noteworthy to state that a workshop aimed at blind children was conducted in parallel to the launch of the program in collaboration with the Saudi-Bahraini Institute for the Blind.
The production of a series of short movie clips:
The Be-Free program produced a series of short movie clips titled "Mom ... Dad ... I deserve love .... let us share it with each other" with the purpose of raising awareness about the devastating impact of emotional abuse on children. It is noted that despite the potentially destructive consequences of emotional abuse; it often receives the least attention. All movie clips are uploaded in the Be-Free channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/befreeprogram
The organization of an international conference titled "Effective Strategies to Protect Children from Abuse and Trafficking on the Internet":
The organization of an international conference titled "Effective Strategies to Protect Children from Abuse and Trafficking on the Internet" under the patronage of the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations on child trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. The conference which mainly discussed children’s safety on the internet was considered the first of its kind in the Arab region.
The official launch of the “Protect Children Now" initiative:
The Be-Free program launched the international initiative “Protect Children Now" which brought together a group of specialists and consultants from different countries and disciplines with the aim of protecting children from abuse. The initiative sought to push for creating laws that protected children from abuse and proposed mechanisms that would ensure proper implementation of the placed laws. The launch of the “Protect Children Now" initiative took place at the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse and the Universal Children's Day.
The documentation of child abuse cases published in local Bahraini newspapers:
The establishments of a record to document child abuse cases published in local Bahraini newspapers and classify them by type. The record provides a preliminary indication of both the number and nature of child abuse cases in Bahrain.
The Chaillot Prize for the year 2009
The Be-Free program was awarded the Chaillot Prize for the year 2009 that was organized by the European Commission of Human Rights of the GCC region. The prize has been awarded to the Be-Free program for its work on child protection on the Internet. The prize was awarded to the program in a ceremony organized by the British Embassy and attended by a gathering of ambassadors of European countries in the Gulf region. It is noteworthy that the prize was delivered by the head of the European Union Delegation.
