2015 Global Forum
The Freedom from Slavery Forum was designed to provide a place for leaders of the global anti-human trafficking and anti-slavery movement to come together, share and discuss best practices and lessons learned, identify gaps in the field, brainstorm new ideas, and build relationships with one another. Additionally, the Forum is meant to educate the public about this issue.
Accordingly, the 2015 Forum was a two-and-half-day event comprised of two days of private meetings among the anti-slavery experts and a half-day presentation by Martha Mendoza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning AP reporter who has written extensively about slavery and who discussed the intersections of trafficking and ethical journalism.
The Forum, an annual event in its third year, was designed with input from participants of the 2014 Forum along with the guidance of an Advisory Committee representing participating organizations. Three primary themes were prioritized for the 2015 Forum in order to make the agenda manageable; each theme had an associated working group of Forum participants who met throughout the spring, summer, and fall to design their topic’s session and prepare presentations on their group’s findings.
Thirty-eight leaders representing 36 different organizations attended the Forum to discuss the state of the anti-trafficking field as well as three major, thematic priorities:
- The Freedom Ecosystem
- Evidence and Measurement
- Professional Standards and Norms for Survivor Services
- Policy and Advocacy