Code of Ethics

Premise

Ethos (ἦθος) is a Greek term whose meaning, originally, was "the place to (be) live(d)". It can mean beginning, disposition and hence character or temperament. From the same Greek root comes the term ethikos (ἠθικός) which means "theory of living", hence the modern term ethics. Therefore, by ethos in its modern meaning we can mean the set of those values and those norms, those codes of behaviour which, internalized by the individual in order to integrate socially, constitute and determine the disposition, character and cultural temperament of a given group.

• The ethos includes the points of view, ideas, standards, ideals, the way of doing things of the parents’ group that inspired the birth of Ageop Ricerca.
• It is the legacy that the group has passed on to all future management teams. These values have evolved and expanded over time. It was necessary to evaluate which values should be preserved forever, once the Association's Mission was founded.

Analysis of the Mission and definition of the cause

The Code of Ethics is therefore a reference and guidance tool, which specifies the values, rights, duties and responsibilities of all those who operate within the Association, to preserve the heritage of reliability and credibility that it has been able to acquire over time.

The Code of Ethics integrates what is not explicitly stated in the Association’s Statute. It is the set of guiding principles that must inspire the behaviour of all the subjects who in various capacities contribute to the mission of Ageop Ricerca, their way of relating inside and outside the Association, in a very complex context.

By adopting a code of conduct, Ageop Ricerca aims to further promote the values of assistance, transparency and responsibility in the humanitarian and socio-health sectors on which its activity is based, and undertakes to fully respect its provisions.

The values that inspire Ageop Ricerca:

• Solidarity: Ageop Ricerca is inspired by article 2 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. «The Republic recognizes and guarantees the inviolable rights of man/woman, both as an individual and in the social formations where his/her personality develops, and requires the fulfilment of the mandatory duties of political, economic and social solidarity.»
• Human and social justice: protection and promotion of rights, starting from the right to a good life and a good death.
• Respect for differences, dignity, time and quality of life.
• Reciprocity as willingness to enter into a relationship with the other in an equal exchange.
• Empathy through empathic listening, focus on the message and feelings of the other, trying to look at the world through their eyes to understand and share their emotions.
• Care: taking care in Ageop Ricerca means having attention and interest in seeking the good of the people in front of us, for their physical and psychological health, sometimes for economic peace of mind, committing ourselves to taking steps to achieve it.
• Honesty: correctness, transparency.

Particular attention is paid to sustainable development, protection of the environment and other common goods, individual growth, social education, solidarity and the values of volunteering.

The mission of the Association is:

To take care of every child and young person as a unique and unrepeatable person. Offer a good life to children and young people with cancer and their families. Anytime, Anywhere, Now and in the Future.

Ageop Ricerca is an ODV, an Association founded on volunteering of which it values the commitment and activity and values of which it promotes.

Aim

Our primary responsibility is to achieve the statutory objectives in an effective and transparent manner, in compliance with our founding values. In doing so, we are accountable to our stakeholders, which include:

• the children and young people affected by cancer whose lives, health and rights we try to protect;
• the parents we have the honour of representing;
• our staff and volunteers;
• our supporters;
• the organizations and individuals who contribute to achieving our goals;
• the partners we collaborate with;
• the entities with which we sign agreements that allow us to operate in different contexts;
• the actors whose policies, programs or behaviours we seek to influence;
• public opinion;
• the media.

In balancing the different visions of all stakeholders, Ageop Ricerca is guided by the Mission enshrined in the Statute and by the principles of this Code.

General Ethical Principles

Ageop Ricerca wants to build a world where there is equality between all members of society, where solidarity between humans is encouraged as a primary value, where the right to health and to high quality and free medical care is guaranteed to all. In this way also the right to public education that develops the human person and enriches their knowledge, the right to freedom and self-determination.

Ageop Ricerca believes in science and supports the creation of a healthcare system and projects dedicated exclusively to preserving and improving people's lives, which are based on the following principles:

• Equality: every human being has the right to be cared for regardless of economic and social conditions, sex, ethnicity, language, religion and opinions. The best care made possible by progress and science must be provided equally to all.
• Impartiality: impartiality means that care must be provided exclusively on the basis of need, without any discrimination.
• High-quality health systems: must be based on the needs of all and be adapted to advances in medical science. They cannot be oriented, structured or determined by powerful groups or interests or by companies involved in the health industry.
• Full recognition of the Right to Health: defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not simply the absence of disease and infirmity. Priority of the health and well-being of citizens, and allocating the necessary human and economic resources for this purpose. Recognition and promotion of preventive medicine, adherence to and support for vaccination campaigns, both to defend public health and to protect the most vulnerable and for high civic value.
• Accessibility of care: the services provided by the national health system and humanitarian projects in the health field must be free and accessible to all.
• Promotion of the humanization of medicine: alleviating physical and psychological suffering with particular attention to the most vulnerable are essential elements of the principle of humanity.
• Recognition and diffusion of the culture of Palliation.

Ethical principles towards minors

Defense of minors' rights

For Ageop Ricerca, fighting for children's rights means defending the rights of every human being. In defending the rights of minors, Ageop Ricerca is inspired by the work of Janus Kortzac, an illustrious pediatrician and pedagogue, who firmly believed that every single minute of a child's life should be respected as unique and unrepeatable and that no game, no form of expression of the child could risk being considered a banal "waste of time".

Rights are absolute in nature, which means that no one can stand above them and must be respected both by parents and by all members of society, be they doctors, workers, teachers, legislators and so on.

The rights of minors in hospital

Ageop Ricerca:

• disseminates and promotes the Each Charter (European Association for Children in Hospital) and fights for its application;
• fights the vision of the child as an object of care and not as a subject with requests and rights who must actively take part in the considerations and decisions on care choices that concern them;
• fights against pediatric onco-haematological diseases, and for the inclusion and social reintegration of pediatric oncology patients.

Ageop Ricerca condemns child exploitation and abuse in all its forms. All strategies, projects and activities respect childhood, the well-being and development of children.

Ethical Standards of Behavior

Autonomy Justice and Respect

• Ageop Ricerca affirms its autonomy with respect to any economic, political, confessional, social and scientific conditioning that could in any way compromise its independence.

It is proposed to carefully analyze the supporters who offer financial aid, and to exclude those financiers who could influence the autonomy of the Association or for whom the probable involvement in ethically reprehensible situations or in any case in contrast with the values promoted by the Association, has been ascertained, or is publicly known.

The Ageop Ricerca logo must only be combined with companies worthy of its history and values, therefore it represents added value for the image of the supporting company, and must never be exploited commercially by it.

The Association does not request funding that is not strictly necessary to support its projects and that cannot be accounted for with its activities.

• Ageop Ricerca believes in the equality of all human beings regardless of opinions, sex, race, ethnic, political or religious affiliation, or their social and economic condition.
• Ageop Ricerca repudiates violence and war as tools for resolving disputes between men, peoples and states.

Ageop Ricerca does not accept funding from companies that produce weapons, those that exploit child labor or cause environmental damage.

• Ageop Ricerca is inspired by a world based on solidarity, social justice, mutual respect, listening to others, dialogue, and a fair distribution of resources.

Ageop Ricerca respects health as a common good of every community, protects the hygiene, health and safety of environments and people at work.

All recipients of this Code of Ethics, and in particular the employees of Ageop Ricerca, are obliged to take care of their own safety and health, that of the children and families cared for by the Association, and of other people present in the workplace, and of all those on which the effects of one's actions or omissions may fall.

• Ageop Ricerca relates to the representatives of the institutions regardless of their political affiliation.

Ethical Standards for Stakeholder Relations

Ageop Ricerca considers diversity a point of strength and wealth and promotes integration between families and volunteers.

Each volunteer must take care not to establish privileged relationships with guests, in the awareness of carrying out their role as a representative of the Association.

Consultants

The Association avails itself of the consultation of professionals. In this regard, it is not permitted to hold paid positions in the Association for a period of six months before and after the advisory mandate.

Information protection and confidentiality

All members of the Association (staff, volunteers, collaborators) must guarantee the correct use of the personal and corporate information to which they have access, in compliance with the laws on privacy and personal dignity. In particular, it is not permitted to publish and/or comment on one's personal profiles in social networks information relating to events and/or images of Ageop Ricerca, of the homes, of children and families without prior consent, to protect their privacy.

Transparency

Ageop Ricerca undertakes to guarantee access to each of the subjects who in various capacities relate to the Association, through adequate information and communication systems, to every sector of its activity, disseminating to all members the decisions and activities that have particular relevance for associative life. The procurement of the financial resources necessary for the functioning of the Association must take place in a transparent manner, according to the exclusive interest of the Association and never for the benefit of individuals or third parties.

All resources must be used according to the criterion of good management for purposes compliant with those indicated in the Statute and specific to the mission of the Association and, if they are expressed, respecting the indications of the donors. Ageop Ricerca complies with the regulations in place regarding accounting and reporting, and once a year presents the financial report on the activities carried out and the results obtained. These reports describe:

• the mission and values of the organization;
• the projects and activities managed;
• the objectives and results obtained, including statistics;
• the sources of funding deriving from companies, foundations, and individuals;
• the annual economic budget;
• the annual moral report. A copy is published on the Ageop Ricerca website.

Ageop Ricerca makes known the use of funding intended for the Association's activities through the publication of the annual budget on the website and in the newsletter, drawn up through accounting records faithful to the representation of the equity/financial situation and management activity.

• Every act must be carried out by those who have the powers to do. Authorization and signature powers must therefore be consistent with the assigned organizational responsibilities.
• Every operation, transaction and action must be verifiable, documented, coherent and appropriate, based on documentable and complete information.
• Professional ethics, whereby the tasks and duties entrusted are carried out with the maximum degree of professional and moral responsibility.
• Rigorous objectivity both in carrying out evaluation activities and in managing relationships with subjects.

Ageop Ricerca is responsible for the activities and results achieved, deriving from a clear Mission, from a defined organizational structure and decision-making processes, from respect for clear values and shared procedures.

The organization undertakes to verify that the results achieved in the projects comply with the statutory principles and to report these activities and results in an accurate and transparent manner. The governance body complies with the relevant regulations on the matter and respects the principle of transparency.

The organization has a management body, with decision-making power in matters of ordinary and extraordinary administration, which also supervises the activities of the Director General. This body evaluates the general strategy of the organization proposed by the Director General and ensures:

• that available resources are used efficiently and appropriately, performance is monitored, financial integrity is guaranteed and public trust is maintained;
• clear procedures relating to the appointment and responsibilities of individual members of the governing body;
• discussion tools aimed at improving the activities, programs and policies implemented by the Director General.

 

Motivation, training, growth

Considering the delicate area within which Ageop Ricerca operates, both staff and volunteers must be animated by a strong motivational drive and a great balance that will help them overcome all the inevitable difficulties they will encounter in their work. For this reason, to serve in the Association as a volunteer, it is necessary to participate in the basic training course and for the entire duration of the service in the Association to the recurring trainings, intended as moments of discussion, growth and support. The principles of the Volunteering Code of Ethics, transmitted to volunteers during the basic training course, are reported in the appendix as an integral part of this Code.

Adherence to the Code of Ethics

What is set out in the Code of Ethics has binding value, therefore everyone within the Association is called upon to adopt behaviors consistent with what is indicated in it and to commit to spreading its values.

• The Board of Directors is the guarantor of the Code of Ethics.
• The members of the Board of Directors promote the dissemination of the principles of this Code of Ethics and take note of the commitment of volunteers and employees to observe them. Any member of the Association who becomes aware of behavior that may differ from the ethical principles listed above is required to report it to the Board of Directors.
• The Council expresses opinions on the application of the Code of Ethics, verifies the effective and concrete existence of a specific violation and agrees with the Director General the methods of interview of the interested party for a verbal warning or for possible sanctions.
• For employees, this Code represents a corporate document aimed at promoting or prohibiting certain behaviors which, although legal from a regulatory point of view, do not correspond to the ethics and values which Ageop Ricerca is inspired by.
• Compliance with this Code constitutes an integral part of the contractual obligations of all people who work in Ageop Ricerca pursuant to and for the purposes of article 2104 of the Civil Code.
• Violation of the rules contained therein therefore constitutes failure to comply with the obligations set out in the employment relationship. To prevent conduct that does not correspond to the values of the Association and therefore damages its interests or image from going unnoticed, sanctioning mechanisms are envisaged in accordance with the National Collective Agreement and the current provisions of the Civil Code.
• In the event of repeated violations of the Code of Ethics or particularly serious violations by members and volunteers, further decisions may be taken (loss of membership status, suspension from volunteer service). This Code of Ethics is adopted by resolution of the Board of Directors dated 15 January 2021 with effect from 15 January 2021.
• To maintain its effectiveness, the Code of Ethics can be reviewed and modified at regular intervals.
• Any update, modification or addition to this Code of Ethics must be approved by resolution of the Board of Directors.
• This Code of Ethics is available for consultation in electronic format on the Ageop Ricerca website as well as, in paper format, in the Association's offices.
• To promote knowledge and therefore compliance with this Code of Ethics, Ageop Ricerca promotes training initiatives and opportunities for reflection on the principles contained therein to which volunteers and employees