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Students asked for ideas to help combat human trafficking
by Joseph Earnest October 15, 2012
Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is asking students to come up with new and innovative ways to end modern slavery. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah announced the Campus Challenge to Counter Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) on October 11 at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Across three phases and through the USAID website ChallengeSlavery.org, the C-TIP Campus Challenge is designed to increase global awareness about trafficking, inspire activism among students and scholars at colleges and universities worldwide and generate new, creative ideas and solutions to stop human trafficking and help the 20.9 million people around the world are enslaved in sex or labor exploitation, USAID said.
During the first phase from October 11 to November 28 at ChallengeSlavery.org, students will have the opportunity to participate in discussion groups on various trafficking subtopics, host online conversations, and crowdsourcing issues that will frame the problems to be addressed in the next phase.
The contest phase, from November 28 to January 8, 2013, will be open for applications from U.S. and international students proposing innovative technological solutions to advance trafficking-in-persons prevention and protection.
From January 9, 2013, to January 30, 2013, the ChallengeSlavery.org community will be invited to rate the proposals and provide suggestions on how submissions can be improved. On February 1, 2013, USAID will announce the semifinalists and in the following three weeks, semifinalist proposals will be judged by an expert C-TIP and technologist panel. The winners will be announced at the end of February and will be invited to share their proposals with donors, C-TIP and technology professionals.
Included in the implementation of the USAID’s 2012 C-TIP Policy, and building on President Obama's speech at the Clinton Global Initiative, USAID policy and programs place a heightened emphasis on innovation, technology and empirical research to help prevent trafficking and provide assistance to victims, USAID said.
USAID said it is partnering with Not for Sale, Slavery Footprint, Free the Slaves and MTV Exit on this project to maximize efforts and inspire millions of people already working on the issue and invite new activists to the cause, ultimately, strengthening the movement to return freedom to the millions of people robbed of their dignity every day.
The report represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it. The U.S. government uses the TIP report to engage foreign governments in dialogues to advance anti-trafficking reforms and to combat trafficking and to target resources on prevention, protection and prosecution programs.
In addition, USAID programmed $163.3 million in C-TIP activities in 68 countries and regional missions between 2001 and 2010 and continues to work around the world.
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