Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
Zagreb, Croatia, March 18, 2025 - In a collaborative effort to strengthen child protection and explore how technology can enhance support for vulnerable children, representatives of Brave Phone (Hrabri telefon), a leading Croatian non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to supporting families and children, and Child Helpline International (CHI), a collective impact organization which gathers over 150 members across more than 130 countries and territories, met with Mplus representatives at the newly opened Brave Center in Zagreb for a round table discussion.
The meeting was attended by Helen Mason, Director of Partnerships and Operations at CHI; Hana Hrpka, Head of Brave Phone; Jelena Tomić, Head of Donations and Sponsorships at Brave Phone; Bruna Kostelac Košir, Chief People Officer at Mplus; and Nikolina Antolić, Director of Corporate Communications at Mplus.
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
The conversation was focused on global and local child protection issues, the crucial importance of partnerships and support, and the role of emerging technologies as platforms for safeguarding the interests of children.
Strengthening Partnerships for a Greater Impact
According to the latest report by Child Helpline International, mental health, violence, and family and peer relationships are the most common reasons children and young people seek support.
“Each year, child helplines worldwide handle over 13 million calls and provide counseling services to nearly 3 million children and young people. Mental health and violence continue to be critical issues in child protection. The data underscores the importance of child helplines as a vital first point of contact, offering immediate guidance and assistance”, said Helen Mason, emphasizing that partnerships play a crucial role in addressing these challenges.
Helen Mason, Director of Partnerships and Operations at CHI
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
Mplus, the BPTO vertical of the BOSQAR INVEST group, has been actively supporting Child Helpline International through financial contributions and corporate initiatives.
As part of its global employee satisfaction and engagement survey, conducted annually across 12 countries, Mplus pledged a contribution to CHI for each completed questionnaire. This initiative not only provided valuable insight into improving employee well-being but also helped further CHI’s mission of ensuring every child has access to support and protection.
As a long-standing partner of Brave Phone, Mplus has also provided financial support and contributed to a fundraising campaign that reached over 20,000 potential donors to secure funding for the opening of the Brave Center in Zagreb.
Hana Hrpka, Head of Brave Phone
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
“By upgrading infrastructure, raising awareness, and fostering partnerships, we are committed to enhancing child helpline accessibility, service quality, and strengthening community engagement. The newly opened Brave Center, a 500-square-meter facility, now offers expanded services for children, including group and individual preventive programs, counseling for both children and parents, and project coordination,” said Hana Hrpka.
“Understanding how our customer support knowledge, expertise, and the technology we are developing can support child helplines globally is truly inspiring for our employees and stakeholders. Every company should focus on community support areas where they can make the greatest impact. In return, we were honored to learn from Brave Phone professionals and gain valuable insights into child support. The workshops they conducted for our employees on peer violence, parental challenges, and work-life balance had a profound impact and received outstanding feedback,” said Bruna Kostelac Košir.
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
Technology as a Tool for Greater Accessibility
In light of the pressing challenges discussed, the partners focused on how technology could offer critical solutions. One key area explored was the potential of AI-driven technologies and digital communication platforms to improve helpline accessibility for children in distress.
Mplus has been actively engaged in implementing its tech solutions to support Brave Phone by incorporating proprietary, in-house multilingual translation tools, making their services more accessible to children from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
This includes enabling language selection and chatbot messages in seven languages, providing real-time chat translation between children and counselors, prioritizing urgent requests based on selected topics, and integrating key database information into workflows.
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
Additionally, the conversation highlighted the integration of new communication channels, which allow children to seek help before they feel ready to make a phone call.
“Emerging technologies present an incredible opportunity to extend the reach of child helplines and meet the changing needs of younger generations,” said Helen. “By integrating digital communication options, we can build trust with children, taking the crucial first step that may eventually lead to a phone call.”
The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of Brave Phone, CHI, and Mplus to advancing child protection services through innovation, collaboration, and dedicated advocacy.
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
Photo: Mplus / Niko Goga
About Mplus
Mplus is a European leader in business process and technology outsourcing (BPTO). It operates as part of the BOSQAR INVEST group, serving as its BPTO vertical, which includes the parent company, M Plus Croatia d.o.o, along with its subsidiaries.
Mplus successfully integrates the dynamic industries of contact centers, information technology, and employment services to address global challenges in customer support. Through its innovative business model, Mplus has built a diverse portfolio of clients, including leading European and global telecommunications, financial, technology, energy, logistics, and consumer goods companies.
With operational centers across 42 sites in 13 countries, the Mplus community comprises over 12,800 employees who deliver top-notch customer experiences in over 32 languages.
In addition to its presence in Croatia, Mplus operates in markets including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the USA.
Mplus has an in-house technology division, which brings together the tech companies within the BPTO group. Their wide range of products, services, and consulting solutions is carefully designed to transform how companies interact with their customers and manage their processes, offering cutting-edge tools to enhance customer experience, optimize operations, and embrace digital transformation.
About Brave phone
In 2024, Brave Phone's helplines received a total of 3 587 inquiries from children, parents, and others concerned about the wellbeing of children in their surroundings. The inquiries often related to family relationships, particularly involving divorce, as well as the mental health of children and youth, with an average of nearly daily discussions on suicide and every other day on self-harm.
These statistics underline the critical need for a stronger approach to preventing these issues. The "New Beginnings – Expanding Social Services of Brave Phone" project, funded by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), and Cohesion Fund (CF) for the period 2014-2020, was instrumental in facilitating the expansion of services, marking a new chapter for Brave Phone.
About Child Helpline International
Child Helpline International is a collective impact organization with more than 150 members from over 130 countries and territories around the world.
We coordinate information, viewpoints, knowledge and data from our child helpline members, partners and external sources. This exceptional resource is used to support child protection systems globally, regionally and nationally, and to help our members advocate for the rights of children and amplify their voices.
Every year, child helplines around the world field more than 13 million individual calls, and provide counselling services to almost 3 million children and young people. Until the founding of Child Helpline International in 2003, these organizations did their great work in isolation, and with no access to one another. Now, we are working together every day to bring children’s voices to policymakers and influencers.
We make sure that every child has a voice, and that the world hears, listens to and acts upon those voices.
