Start Freedom - A global webcast to fight human trafficking
14 October 2009 - Crossing continents, changing communities and reaching out to schools around the world, START FREEDOM is a campaign designed to engage minds and create action against human trafficking - a crime affecting young people all over the world.
Today UN.GIFT and STOP THE TRAFFIK, launch Start Freedom, a global webcast against human trafficking targeted at young people. Live from the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the 8 minutes long videostream will be broadcasted to more than 1500 secondary schools around the world. The webcast acts as a platform for young people across the world to engage with the issue of human trafficking and explain how they can help combat it.
Following the webcast schools will be able to download the video of the event as well as a series of teaching resources available in the six official UN languages, plus Hindi and Dutch which will educate youth about the themes raised in the webcast.
The following subjects will be covered in the material:
- What is trafficking?
- Trafficking in the supply chains (chocolate)
- The vulnerability of women and girls (sex trafficking)
- What can you do?
In the last chapter, young people will be encouraged to think about original ways of sharing what they have learnt and creating an awareness raising campaign themselves. Their response could take the form of film, music, dance, drama, art and writing. Participating schools and individuals will be given five months to get involved and develop their own activities, before the campaign reaches its peak in March 2010 for Start Freedom week.
To build on the momentum of the webcast, START FREEDOM week will provide the opportunity for all the activities to be posted on the web and shared among all participants. It will be the "greatest freedom show the world has ever seen". STT and UN.GIFT will provide the facility of web casting for the participants to communicate with one another so they can be part of "the classroom that crosses continents".
Related links
Listen to the podcast with Steve Chalke and Ruth Dearnley