War On Slavery (w/t)

The problem: More than 50million people around the world trapped in modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking. UN targets of 2030 to eradicate it (and 2025 to end child labour affecting a 152million children) mean nothing unless significantly more is done.

Our Contribution: Believing in people power to change attitudes and behaviours of governments, businesses and the broad public, we are developing a documentary/factual tv project and social impact campaign, a solutions-based approach to educate the public around the scale and urgency of the issue and to inspire and equip them to take-action, in particular in regard to the supply chains behind consumer goods we use every day. Working closely with Kevin Hyland, we are also building an international taskforce to lobby governments at G20 level and locally, and running events to mobilise civil society and the wider public.

To stir up public outrage, urgency and action. Documentary and a noisy impact campaign, supported by celebrity, will amplify and add to work already being done in the sector, joining the dots to create and harness a people power movement focussed on prevention, cure and driving change. People power has effected lasting change on issues like plastic and climate change, moving public behaviours and holding governments and businesses to account. War On Slavery moves the spotlight to people.

Our aim is to inform, inspire, instigate; educate, empower, enable. To create a noisy project bringing this abhorrent crime out of the shadows so no-one can say they did not know or could do nothing about it. For the widest number of people to understand that if we don’t act, don’t take responsibility and continue to benefit from the exploitation of others, we are complicit. An investigation and mission sitting between Michael Moore, An Inconvenient Truth, War On Waste and the accessibility and primetime celebrity attraction of Who Do You Think You Are?, its success may be measured initially by ratings, sales, festival screenings, coverage in third party media and noise in political, financial and business circles.

Working in partnership with existing anti-slavery organisations, we will measure levels of political interest and engagement, and changes in public understanding, attitudes and action on modern slavery in all its forms. Our aim is to avoid duplicating existing work rather to ventilate and amplify it, placing it firmly front and centre in public consciousness as well as government, business and finance sectors.

Through empowerment, we aim to mobilise the public not simply into ethical buying habits but to exercise their First World privilege and demand that governments and businesses act responsibly in their work practice and financial transactions, and no tax payers’ money funds modern slavery. We plan to hold governments to account, going as far as the OECD and G20 which controls 80% of the world’s economy. The series will impart an understanding of political process and power by tackling it head on. We will encourage viewers to engage with G20 engagement groups and international organisations such as the ILO and International Trade Union Confederation who are already interested in this project through petitions and writing to relevant government officials. The same approach to be taken to business and finance sectors, naming and shaming bad practice and celebrating good practice and developments.