By: Rahmatullah Mahmud

Now in its seventh year, #MyFreedomDay, CNNs one-day, student-driven social media event to raise awareness of modern-day slavery, returns on March 16. The driving force behind this years event is a call on students and communities worldwide to Know the Signs of modern-day slavery, as a key tool to identify and stamp out human trafficking in their communities.

Thousands of students from more than 100 countries around the world have accepted this years call to action, with students organizing online discussions, book clubs, art exhibitions, video campaigns, live music performances, among many other activities being planned.

#MyFreedomDay coverage will kick off at 12amET on CNN International, with correspondents contributing throughout the day from Atlanta, Hong Kong, and London among others. CNN correspondents will also highlight remarkable stories of survivors of human trafficking from such diverse places as Bolivia, Cambodia and San Diego, California.
On Saturday, March 18, CNN International will broadcast Fighting for Mercy: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary. This film follows Mercy Esther, a survivor who at just 8-years-old was taken from her village in rural Tanzania and forced into domestic servitude in a faraway city. At 16, she made a daring escape to find her family and reclaim her life. Working with the Kulczyk Foundation, the CNN Freedom Project investigates this common reality in Tanzania and highlights one brave Tanzanian woman, a survivor of domestic servitude herself, who has devoted her life to saving girls like Mercy Esther and changing the mindset of people who have allowed this abuse to become a part of the culture.

CNNs #MyFreedomDay microsite, CNN.com/MyFreedomDay will offer interactive content to Know the Signs of modern-day slavery in all its different forms and serve as education tools for students and broader audiences worldwide. CNN is encouraging students to share their responses to the question What does freedom mean to you?’ using the #MyFreedomDay hashtag, which will be showcased on the microsite.

Leif Coorlim, executive editor of the CNN Freedom Project, said: Year after year, we are amazed by the response of students from around the world, who, inspired by the remarkable stories of survivors of human trafficking, turn their alarm into action. This year, we are honored to offer them practical tools to know the signs of modern-day slavery so that they may amplify this message and help put an end to it wherever it occurs.

 

About The CNN Freedom Project
The CNN Freedom Project produces original reports, articles, and documentaries on human trafficking in all of its forms from debt bondage in India to sex trafficking rings in Southern California and African slaves in the Sinai desert. Since its launch in 2011, the multi-award-winning CNN Freedom Project is among the most successful and highly visible programming initiatives on CNN International. It has generated more than 1,000 investigative stories of modern-day slavery from across six continents.

 

Various NGOs report that these CNN Freedom Project stories have contributed to changing laws and corporate policies, led to more than 1,000 survivors receiving assistance and sparked more than $24 million in donations to anti-trafficking organizations. www.cnn.com/freedom

About CNN Worldwide
CNN Worldwide is the most honored brand in cable news, reaching more individuals on television and online than any other cable news organization in the United States. Globally, CNN International is the most widely distributed news channel.

 

CNN Digital is the #1 online news destination, with more unique visitors and video viewers than any other news source. The award-winning portfolio of CNN includes non-scripted programming from CNN Original Series and documentary feature and short films for broadcast, streaming and distribution by CNN Films across multiple platforms.

 

CNN programming can be found on CNN, CNN International, HLN and CNN en Español channels, on the CNN Originals hub on discovery+ on HBO Max and for pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the worlds most extensively utilized news service partnering with over 1,000 local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Categories: News

Make your comments...