11.35, FRIDAY AUGUST 10, 2007
THE CAMPAIGN to find Madeleine McCann has joined the YouTube community, it was announced today (Friday) by Gerry and Kate McCann.
“We have been working with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children for some time, as well as other agencies”, Gerry and Kate said in an email sent to the newspapers. “We decided to launch ‘Don’t you forget about me’ to coincide with 100 days since Madeleine was taken from her bed.”
The new YouTube channel aims to be another way to help efforts to find Madeleine but will also try to raise awareness of all the missing children around the world and “re-unite missing children with their families”, say the McCanns.
“The channel includes a video of Madeleine, but it is not just about her; it is about all missing children and their families. If this channel helps just one family then it will be worthwhile“, they say in the email.
The purpose of the YouTube endeavour, which will be supported by Kate and Gerry McCann and run by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), is to use cutting-edge technology and resources to disseminate photographs/ images of and information about missing children from around the world.
According to Ernie Allen, President and CEO of ICMEC, “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”.
In the United States alone, he says, “nearly 700,000 children are missing each year or about 2,000 each day. Photos remain the single most effective tool for finding a missing child”.
Images and videos of missing children will be posted to the channel, after strict verification procedures operated by ICMEC, for viewing by the public anywhere in the world.
People with information about a missing child featured on the YouTube channel will be asked to provide relevant information to the appropriate law enforcement agency having investigative jurisdiction over the case.
The URL for the new YouTube channel is : www.youtube.com/dontyouforgetaboutme
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