2020 Forum

“Opportunities in an Age of Adaptation”

The 8^th annual Freedom from Slavery Forum happened in a unique and exceptional environment. Countries have taken measures to contain the COVID-19 global pandemic, but modern-day slavery including sexual slavery, forced labor and human trafficking has grown worse as proven by several research findings and every-day facts. Civil society organizations are at the front of the fight, but are experiencing increased demand for services while facing a decrease in funding, driving an urgent need for innovation in advocacy and other programmatic design and delivery.

It is in this climate of adaptation that the 8^th annual Forum adapted to the realities imposed by the global pandemic. This year’s virtual forum was an opportunity to increase participation, interaction, networking, learning and sharing.

Four Days | 90-minute sessions

 THE USE OF RESEARCH TO FIGHT MODERN SLAVERY

How can we define and measure the drivers of modern slavery and the impact of interventions in ways that shape policy decisions, generate funding and inform the design of front-line interventions?

• Moderator: Davina Durgana | Minderoo Foundation/Walk Free
• Keynote Address: Kevin Bales | University of Nottingham Rights Lab
• Panelists:
  • David Okech | Univ. of Georgia African Programming & Research Initiative to End Slavery
  • Michaëlle De Cock | International Labor Organization
  • Alice Eckstein | United Nations University Center for Policy Research, Delta 8.7

STRENGTHENING ADVOCACY FROM GRASSROOTS TO GLOBAL

How have the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act and U.N. Palermo Protocol, now 20 years old, shaped the anti-slavery movement? How can we galvanize coordinated global action to more effectively serve enslaved individuals and vulnerable populations? Presented in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University.

• Moderator: Luis C.deBaca | Yale University
• Keynote Addresses:
  • Hillary Rodham Clinton | Former U.S. Secretary of State (pre-recorded)
  • Anousheh Karvar | Alliance 8.7
• Panelists:
  • David Blight | Yale University
  • Cheryl Perera | OneChild Canada
  • Charolette Oldham Moore | U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff
  • Deepika Mittal | Global March Against Child Labor
  • Joha Braimah | Free the Slaves

EMPOWERING & LEARNING FROM SURVIVORS

How can we achieve stronger survivor engagement and leadership in the anti-slavery movement in advocacy, research, policymaking, awareness-raising and project implementation?

• Moderator: Tina Frundt | Courtney’s House
• Keynote Address: Deborah Pembrook | Monterey County California Rape Crisis Center
• Panelists:
  • Sophie Otiende | Protection Practitioner
  • Ima Matul | National Survivor Network at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking
  • Sarah Bessell: Human Trafficking Legal Center

FUNDRAISING & RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

What is the movement’s financial future in the face of challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what must funders do to keep the movement resourced?

• Moderator: Cheryl Perera | OneChild Canada
• Keynote Addresses:
  • Geannina Dinarte Romero | Costa Rica Minister of Labor & Social Security (pre-recorded)
  • John Cotton Richmond | U.S. State Dept. Office to Monitor/Combat Trafficking in Persons
• Panelists:
  • Nick Grono | Freedom Fund
  • Dominique Chauvet-Staco | Pathy Family Foundation
  • Vijay Simhan | Humanity United
  • Kevin Willcutts | U.S. Labor Department International Labor Affairs Bureau