ASU joins a global cause to end modern slavery


Kaitlyn Fitzgerald

Think slavery has ended? Think again.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that there are 20.9 million men, women and children enslaved around the world today. These individuals are denied their freedoms and exploited through means of forced labor and prostitution.

Students and faculty at Arizona State University urged students to help combat the problem on Jan. 9 at “Campus Challenge: A call to action against human trafficking.”

The event, co-sponsored by ASU’s College of Public Programs, ASU Global and Changemaker Central, was created to raise awareness for ChallengeSlavery.org, USAID’s Counter Trafficking in Persons Campus Challenge. ASU Global, a part of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, works with local, national and international partners to find solutions to the most complex challenges facing our world today.

“ASU is committed to the idea that universities must participate in solving problems,” said Jonathan Koppell, dean of the College of Public Programs, in his opening statement. “This challenge is a call to action that as a group and as individuals, we can be agents of change.”

The Campus Challenge from USAID is simple: students are encouraged to submit ideas on how technology can be used in positive ways to combat the spread of trafficking and provide assistance to trafficking victims.

The event also presented other ways in which students can become involved, including visiting sites such as Not For Sale and Slavery Footprint, to raise awareness and reduce consumption of goods produced through slave labor.

Groups including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Unchained Movement and Dignity House were also present and disseminating information at the event.

Students may submit ideas to the Campus Challenge on their own, with a partner or as a member of a team. Winners will be announced in March and will be invited to showcase and discuss their ideas and receive prizes of up to $5,000.

The application deadline has been extended to midnight on Jan. 31. For more information on contest rules and how to enter visit ChallengeSlavery at https://www.challengeslavery.org/.

To watch a video of the event, go to: https://vimeo.com/57405023

Written by Lorraine Longhi, Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development

Media contact:
Joan M. Sherwood, joan.sherwood@asu.edu
602-496-0406
Director of Communications | College of Public Programs