Child safeguarding policy of Rumänieninitiativgruppe Bautzen e. V.

For the “Creative Future” microgrant programme

Date: 1 September 2026
Responsible body: Board of Rumänieninitiativgruppe Bautzen e. V.
Safeguarding contact: Christiane Thomas
Deputy: Peter Großmann
Contact: info@rig-bautzen.de

1. Purpose and scope

Through “Creative Future”, Rumänieninitiativgruppe Bautzen e. V. (RIG) supports small projects that are largely run by volunteers. Some are aimed at children and young people or involve them. A child is any person under the age of 18.

As part of the grant programme, RIG generally does not run its own activities for minors and normally has no direct contact with them. It is nevertheless responsible for its funding decisions and for responding appropriately to risks that come to its attention.

This policy applies to RIG’s board, jury, volunteers and commissioned persons in connection with “Creative Future”. Funded partners commit in the grant agreement to the minimum standards relevant to their project. Mandatory law and local safeguarding procedures remain unaffected.

2. Principles and responsibilities

The following principles apply to all decisions:

• The child’s welfare, dignity and safety come first.
• All children have an equal right to protection. Their views and any objection they express are considered in an age-appropriate way.
• Concerns are handled confidentially and without premature attribution of blame.
• Measures reflect the nature and risk of the project and remain proportionate.
• No one may be disadvantaged for raising a concern in good faith.

The funded partner has operational responsibility for safe planning and delivery. In projects involving minors, it must in particular

• name an adult safeguarding contact,
• organise appropriate care, supervision and roles for the people involved,
• assess and reduce identifiable risks before the project starts,
• inform staff and volunteers about rules of conduct and reporting routes,
• provide an understandable complaints route for participants and responsible adults, and
• contact the locally competent emergency, child protection or law-enforcement services in the event of immediate danger.

Responsibility remains with the funded partner where other people, groups or institutions contribute to delivery.

RIG does not assume care or supervision, staff selection or operational project control. It does not investigate suspected crimes. It may ask questions, seek professional advice and take safeguarding measures related to the grant.

3. Minimum standards in funded projects

Adults working with minors in a funded project

• act respectfully, without discrimination and in an age-appropriate manner,
• respect the child’s boundaries, privacy and wishes,
• refrain from violence, degrading treatment, sexualised behaviour, exploitation and any inappropriate influence,
• avoid or safeguard unsupervised one-to-one situations and private or secret digital communication,
• do not conceal concerns or boundary violations and do not attempt to settle them privately “among themselves”.

For ordinary small projects, the self-declaration in the application, a named responsible person and the safeguarding clause in the grant agreement will normally be sufficient. RIG may request a brief additional risk assessment, particularly for overnight stays, regular one-to-one supervision, transport, remote activities, particular accident risks, private digital communication, especially vulnerable groups or a specific concern.

RIG generally does not collect lists of minor participants, health data or criminal record certificates. The funded partner is responsible for carrying out any checks required by locally applicable law.

4. Concerns and incidents

Immediate danger

If there is immediate danger, protecting the child comes first. The funded partner contacts the locally competent services. RIG is not an emergency service.

Reporting to RIG

A serious incident or sufficiently specific concern about a significant risk in the funded project must be reported to RIG without delay. For the first message, it is sufficient to request a confidential call-back or a secure transmission route. Names, photographs, diagnoses and other identifying or particularly sensitive information should not be sent unsolicited by unencrypted email.

Subject: “CONFIDENTIAL – CHILD SAFEGUARDING”
Christiane Thomas, safeguarding contact: info@rig-bautzen.de
Peter Großmann, deputy: info@rig-bautzen.de

If the report concerns Christiane Thomas or she is unavailable, the sender should expressly request contact from Peter Großmann. This reporting route does not replace local emergency numbers or competent authorities.

RIG’s response

RIG assesses, with two people involved, which immediate and grant-related steps are necessary. It documents only the necessary facts, assessments and decisions, seeks professional or legal advice where needed and limits access to a small number of responsible people. It does not interview children or conduct its own witness interviews.

Even if a concern cannot be conclusively verified, RIG may take precautionary and proportionate action to reduce risk. Measures may include additional supervision, excluding a person from direct contact with children or from leadership duties, limiting them to administrative tasks, or temporarily suspending an activity or grant. Such a measure is not a finding of guilt and will be reviewed when new information becomes available.

5. Photographs, reports and data protection

Identifiable photographs of minors are neither a condition of funding nor required as proof of activity. A short report and aggregated participant numbers will normally be sufficient.

If RIG intends to publish a photograph, video, quotation or story involving a minor:

1. Before transmission, the funded partner obtains and documents all consents required for the specific recording, transfer and publication, including the consent of a person with parental responsibility where necessary. The child is informed in an age-appropriate way and any objection is respected.
2. Participation and funding must not depend on consent to publication.
3. The funded partner confirms to RIG in writing that the necessary consents are in place. The originals normally remain securely with the partner. If there is doubt, RIG may request suitable evidence.
4. RIG decides independently whether publication is responsible. It does not publish humiliating, stigmatising or dangerous material and avoids unnecessary names, precise locations, contact details and sensitive information.
5. A withdrawal or request for removal is forwarded without delay. RIG stops further use of the material and removes it from channels under its control unless another legal basis or mandatory obligation applies.

Safeguarding reports and other sensitive data are processed separately from general project documentation, for a specific purpose, with restricted access and only for as long as necessary. RIG does not maintain a register of rumours, suspicions or offences.

6. Consequences and review

In the event of a significant risk or breach, RIG may require advice or a safeguarding measure, exclude individual activities or roles from funding, withhold an outstanding payment, or suspend or terminate funding in accordance with the grant agreement and applicable law. Decisions are confidential, proportionate and, where possible, made after hearing the funded partner; where there is immediate danger, action may be taken first.

The board informs those directly involved about this policy, includes the partner declaration in the grant agreement and reviews the rules after relevant incidents and at least every two years.

Annex 1: Short partner declaration

This annex is intended for inclusion in the grant agreement.

Child safeguarding The grantee has operational responsibility for the safe delivery of the project. For activities involving persons under 18, it appoints a responsible adult, organises appropriate care and supervision, complies with applicable law and informs the people involved about safeguarding standards and reporting routes. In the event of immediate danger, it protects the child first and contacts the locally competent services. It reports a serious incident or sufficiently specific concern in the funded project to RIG without delay and, initially, wherever possible without sensitive or identifying information. It sends RIG identifiable photographs, videos, quotations or stories involving minors for publication only where the consents required for the specific use have been documented. The child is informed in an age-appropriate way and any objection is respected. RIG may decide not to publish or may request suitable evidence. Funding does not transfer care, supervision, staff selection or operational project control to RIG.

Person responsible for safeguarding at the funded partner:
Name: ______________________________________________
Contact: ____________________________________________

Confirmation by the grantee:
Place and date: _____________________________________
Name and role: ______________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________

Reference framework

This policy is based in particular on:

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• Keeping Children Safe: International Child Safeguarding Standards;
• UNICEF Romania: Child Safeguarding;
• UNICEF: Ethical Guidelines for Reporting on Children;
• European Commission: data protection and specific safeguards for children.