Starting Date: 04-06-2006
Ending Date: 04-09-2006
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
United StatesNorthwestern University Conference on Human Rights
The Chains That Remain: The Nature of Human Trafficking in a Global Context
April 6-9, 2006
Bringing together distinguished academics, activists, and policy makers from around the globe, the 2006 Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights will explore the international dynamics of human trafficking - a modern-day form of slavery - as well as strategies for combatting it.
The conference’s educational emphasis provides a unique forum for undergraduate students from across the country to discuss the future of this crucial issue in international human rights policy.
Please join us! All conference events are free and open to the public!
Planning for the 2006 Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights is well underway, but we have not yet announced the featured speakers and panelists who will be presenting at the conference. For students interested in attending, however, it may be helpful to have an idea of the general framework within which the conference will be organized. This outline is, of course, subject to change, but we hope that it - along with information about past conferences included below - will provide a rough idea of what to expect.
Format of the 2006 Conference
The conference will consist of four panel discussions focusing on specific geographical regions of the world and the distinct sorts of human trafficking present in each. While the panels will be dealing with different areas, they will all focus on prevention, prosecution, and victim rehabilitation in an attempt to facilitate inter-regional cooperation and strategies.
The panel discussions will be supplemented by a series of three featured addresses by particularly distinguished policymakers. These men and women are some of the most influential advocates in the world against human trafficking, and bring with them a wealth of practical experience that is incredibly valuable for students looking to get involved in human rights issues.
The third and most important part of the conference, of course, is the student delegates who attend it. The conference seeks to bring a mix of upper- and underclassmen of all different backgrounds, with the expectation that delegates will learn nearly as much from each other as from the presenters. This is particularly true in areas of activism specifically relevant to college campuses, such as the creation of student groups and consciousness-raising efforts. Applications from delegates with a strong background in human trafficking issues will obviously be attractive, but previous work on the issue is not necessary - we are interested in finding the students for whom the conference will be most beneficial, not just those who have already achieved the most. Unfortunately, because of funding constraints we are only able to sponsor delegates who will be in North America at the time of the conference, though we are eager to welcome students from other parts of the world if they can find outside funding.
History of the Conference
Started in 2003 by a group of Northwestern University undergraduates, the Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights is now in its third year of existence. The inaugural conference focused on American interventionist policy and featured addresses by Richard Holbrooke, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, and Romeo Delaire, the Canadian General in charge of U.N. forces during the Rwandan Genocide. The following year, the conference addressed questions about American policy toward HIV/AIDS in the Developing World. Featured address were given by Stephen Lewis, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Nobel Peace Prize-winning Doctors Without Borders, and Dr. Mark Dybul, Assistant U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
More than 50 student delegates from nearly 40 colleges and universities across the country attended the conference, along with hundreds of Northwestern students and residents of the Chicago area. Building on our past success, we hope this year's conference will be even better attended.Geographical Scope: National Conference |
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