Ambassador Larsen. Photo: Spiros Katopodis and
Besafe are two Norwegian companies that manufacture safety equipment for children. Both of these companies' products are offered in Greece. Last Saturday, together with the Norwegian Embassy in Athens, the two companies hosted a conference entitled “Child Safety in the Car – Bonding in the Family. Raising a Baby in Scandinavia and in Greece”.
The Norwegian Ambassador to Greece, Mr, Sjur Larsen, opened the conference taking place at the Athens Hilton. "I'm not just here as an Ambassador, but also as a father of three children," Ambassador Larsen said. He pointed out the importance of spreading knowledge about safety for children in the cars, underlining that "your family is always the most important thing in life".
The Embassy is therefore glad to be able to co-host this event, hoping we can help make a different. And if it can help make a difference, then it will also help save the life of many young ones.
See the Ambassador's speech here.
Greek and Norwegian contributors
The conference started with the Norwegian Ph.D Student Ms. Marianne Skjerven-Martinsen, talking about the serious consequences poor security in the car can have on children. She stressed the importance of using the car’s safety belt the right way, underlining that a high percentage of the fatal injuries ciuld have been avoided with propeer car seats and belt use.
First Secretary Ms. Anne HavnørThe next presentation was given by the Norwegian Embassy’s First Secretary, Ms. Anne Havnør. She approached the topic from a different angle, taking about how Norwegian public policy can facilitate bonding between children and parents. She particularly focused on the rights you have as a father in the Norwegian social system.
Among other, Havnør could tell that in Norway, the father can take 2 weeks leave immediately after the baby is born. Later on, fathers can take 12 weeks paid parental leave. The paternal quota was introduced in 1993 to encourage more fathers to participate in caring for their child during its first year of the life, and it gives men an oportunity to develop a stronger bond to their children from birth.
Norway was the first country in the world to establish such a scheme, and in 2009 a white paper on male roles and gender equality was published as the first of its kind in the world. Anne Havnør has long experience with children- and gender issues from the
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
See Anne Havnør's speech here. Amongst the other speakers at the conference was Ms. Unni Knutli, District Manager/ Project Manager, Traffic Safety – children in cars project,
Trygg Trafikk (The Norwegian Council for Road Safety). Mr Evgenios Petoumenos, Journalist,
Road Safety Institute “Panos Mylonas”, Ms. Maria Skompa, Professional Educator and Ms. Mari Janikian, Ph.D.,
American College of Greece, Psychology Department.
The conference ended with a Q & A session where participants had the opportunity to ask questions regarding safety and bonding to the panel.
We would like to repeat the most important message of the evening, cause it can't be said often enough: Children of all ages must be safely fastened in a car seat. This applies to a newborn baby, as well as a teenager!
Restrain you child! Take safety in cars seriously!