The Thomson Reuters Foundation has partnered with the Global March against Child Labour, Anti-Slavery International, Education International, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Kids Rights Foundation and other high-impact NGOs to conceive and launch End Child Slavery Week (ECSW), a global campaign aimed at raising awareness and taking action to eradicate child slavery.
The high profile initiative will be launched on November 19 during a special evening event taking place at Trust Women, the flagship forum on slavery, human trafficking and women’s rights organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“Slavery is a silent crime. Yet, today, there are 30 million slaves in the world, the highest number in history”, said Monique Villa, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Not many people know that slavery generates 150 billion dollars a year, more than the earnings of Apple and Google combined. Many slaves are children, and the crime is even more damaging and goes unnoticed. Knowing this, how can we not take action?” added Villa.
In line with Trust Women’s strong commitment to action, ECSW will develop a coordinated plan to advocate for the inclusion of slavery eradication into the post-2015 Development Goals. As part of the same effort, ECSW will also identify and promote policies and initiatives that can effectively reduce child slavery globally. Through the contribution of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, ECSW partners will have access to a prestigious platform to combine their talent base, financial resources, and networks to effectively lobby governments around the world to put child slavery at the heart of the political agenda.
Read the End Child Slavery Week joint statement and the concept note for an overview of events, activities, meetings, and action points planned in the lead up to the November event.
For more information, get in touch with info@endchildslaveryweek.org.
