Focus on Freedom: Ending Modern Day Slavery

• - February 29, 2012, 7:30pm - 8:00pm
• Spring Arbor University and Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church

Spring Arbor University, in conjunction with Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church and the Set Free committee, presents Focus on Freedom: Ending Modern Day Slavery. Our goal is to increase awareness of the magnitude of modern day slavery both globally and within our county, and to provide avenues for action to help abolish slavery in our lifetime. It is our hope that you will be able to attend and might also share this opportunity with others within your church, school or organization.
All events listed are free and open to the public. 

Tuesday, February 28

7:30pm and 10pm FOCUS kicks off with two viewings of the film, “Not My Life,” in White Auditorium.

Wednesday, February 29

9:00am and 10:00am Workshops (each workshop presented twice)
LOCATIONS: Spring Arbor University Classrooms
    POL: Poling Center for Global Studies
    WG: Whiteman-Gibbs Science Center
    SMC: Smith Music Center

• An Ounce of Prevention
  Presenter: Linda Adams, Director of International Childcare Ministries
  Location: POL 204
• I blame Brangelina: the Idea of Celebrity and Human Trafficking
  Presenter: Brent Cline, Assistant Professor of English
  Location: WG 110
• Does Overlooking Human Rights Issues in International Business Make Good Business Sense?
  Presenters: Gainey School of Business Faculty Panel: Caleb Chan, Dave Globig, Allen Knight, and Randy Lewis
  Location: POL 202
• Cultures of Slavery: India, the Caste System, and the Renewing of Minds
  Presenter: Jen Letherer, Assistant Professor of Communication
  Location: SMC 110
• Liberating the Oppressed: Defining Freedom, Slavery, and Justice
  Presenter: Paul Nemecek, Director of SAU Guatemala
  Location: WG 213
• The Body as Commodity: An Introduction to the Sex Trade in Cambodia and Thailand
  Presenter: Jeremy Norwood, J.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology
  Location: POL 302
• Human Rights Violations Within the Banana Industry in Latin America
  Presenter: David Shinabarger, SAU Global Studies Student
  Location: POL 303
• Prevention: Empowering the Community to End Human Trafficking by Exposing its Root Causes
  Presenter: Julie Slagter, Founder/Director of Michigan Abolition Project and Global Coordinator for End Slave Ministries for International Teams
  Location: POL 305
• How Evangelicals (and others) Rid the World of Slavery the First Time
  Presenter: Chuck White Ph.D., Professor of Christian Thought and History
  Location: POL 203
• Asian Massage Parlors and Possible Faces of Slavery in Jackson
  Presenter: Andrew VanValin, Senior SAU Student
  Location: SMC 111

11:00am KEYNOTE
Abolitionist Reality Check: An honest assessment of the anti-slavery movement today and where we need to go tomorrow
Speaker: Mark Wexler, Executive Director and Co-founder of Not For Sale
Location: SAFMC

1:30pm SEMINAR
Free2Work: Monitoring Supply Chains and Consumer Advocacy
Presenter: Mark Wexler
Location: SAFMC

2:30pm SEMINAR
A Human Face on the Trafficking Industry in the United States
Presenter: Leslie King-Borrego, Founder and CEO of Sacred Beginnings Women’s Transitional Program in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Location: SAFMC

3:30pm “Next Steps” FAIR
A variety of local and global organizations will provide additional information and ways to get involved in the modern day abolition movement. Door prizes available.
Location: Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church, Fireside Cafe’ Area

About Wexler:
Wexler is the executive director and co-founder of Not For Sale. He found his vocational direction while working on the streets of Durban, South Africa, and left in 2006 to found Not For Sale. Wexler is a partner in the Right Reality Fund, which invests at the intersection of for-profit and non-profit industries. At Not For Sale, Wexler manages program directors and facilitates strategic partnership agreements with other institutions.

About King-Borrego:
King-Borrego is the founder of Sacred Beginnings, a residential program and support service for women overcoming addiction and sexual exploitation. She was awarded the 2008 YWCA Advocate of the year award, nominated for the 2008 women of the Year Award, and received the 2011 Alliance of Health “Rising Hero” Award. She is a survivor of sexual abuse as a child, drug addiction and prostitution.  King-Borrego has helped more than 400 women through Sacred Beginnings — and they have gone on to help others in the program. She recently formed a board of directors for her program with plans to offer inpatient rehabilitation services.

All events free and open to the public.

Please contact Mary Darling or Jennie Belden for more information.