Want to know more about one of the most significant events in the fight against human trafficking? Join us on a fascinating journey as we discuss the highlights of the 20th annual Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference with our esteemed guest, Anna Schram. We explore the incredible success of the conference, which welcomed 1,400 attendees from 27 countries and 49 states. Hear about the thought-provoking tribute to Dr. Celia Williamson, and a stirring video featuring survivors' experiences. Learn about the innovative use of gamification and our virtual platform, which created a more interactive and engaging experience for attendees.
We also share insights about the affordability of the conference, the smooth technology experience, and some standout vendors. Discover the story behind the ethically sourced shirts from Worthwhile Ware and the exclusive 20th annual t-shirts. We wrap up with a discussion on the impactful feedback we received, particularly from the session on moral injury, which resonated strongly with survivors. As we look forward to the 2024 conference, we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to submit their presentations for consideration. Listen in, as we reveal how to submit your abstract to present at next year's conference!
Want to know more about one of the most significant events in the fight against human trafficking? Join us on a fascinating journey as we discuss the highlights of the 20th annual Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference with our esteemed guest, Anna Schram. We explore the incredible success of the conference, which welcomed 1,400 attendees from 27 countries and 49 states. Hear about the thought-provoking tribute to Dr. Celia Williamson, and a stirring video featuring survivors' experiences. Learn about the innovative use of gamification and our virtual platform, which created a more interactive and engaging experience for attendees.
We also share insights about the affordability of the conference, the smooth technology experience, and some standout vendors. Discover the story behind the ethically sourced shirts from Worthwhile Ware and the exclusive 20th annual t-shirts. We wrap up with a discussion on the impactful feedback we received, particularly from the session on moral injury, which resonated strongly with survivors. As we look forward to the 2024 conference, we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to submit their presentations for consideration. Listen in, as we reveal how to submit your abstract to present at next year's conference!
You know the why human trafficking work is needed To fight for the freedom of modern day slaves. But love, passion, commitment isn't all you need to be an effective and successful anti-trafficking advocate. Learn the how. I'm Dr Celia Williamson, director of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute at the University of Toledo. Welcome to the Emancipation Nation podcast, where I'll provide you with the latest and best methods, policy and practice, discussed by experienced experts in the field, so that you can cut through the noise, save time and be about the work of saving lives. Welcome to the Emancipation Nation. This is Episode 201. I'm Dr Celia Williamson, and today we have Anna Schram back with us to talk about this year's Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference. So hi, anna, hi Celia, thanks for having me back. Yeah, so you know, every year for the past 20 years, we have hosted the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference. It is a global conference with many, many people that attend. So, anna, first tell us for this year how many people attended, how many countries, how many representatives across US states.
Speaker 2:Yes, so we had our 20th annual conference back in September. It was September 20th through the 22nd, which now that it's December, that's, like you know, two and a half months ago, which is crazy because it just feels like we just had it and I'm still recovering from it. But it went well. It was a very successful 20th annual conference. We had 1,400 attendees who came over that three-day conference. Of that 1,200, 235 of those attendees were survivors or lived experience experts, which was very exciting because that is, you know, those are the people that we do this work for. And then we also had 400 college students who attended, which is also very exciting. You know, being part of the University of Toledo, we had a lot of University of Toledo students, but we also had several other college students from other universities across the country who attended, which is great for them to get exposure to an academic conference, learn from some of the top researchers and advocates, people in healthcare and law enforcement from around the world. So it's a great opportunity for them. And then, so, overall, of those 1,400 attendees, they came from 49 states within the United States, so very close to getting all 50 states at one conference. That will hopefully be our goal for future years to get every single state at one conference.
Speaker 2:And then we had 27 countries that were represented at this year's conference, which is huge. All of them were new countries, including Cameroon, columbia, greece, crizzixan, new Zealand and Portugal were all new countries that have never had anybody come before. So that is very exciting. We are continuing to see, you know, growth and expansion every year. Word of mouth. It's great to get these new people. So now we're up to. Over the past 20 years, we've had attendees from 57 countries, so our numbers just keep growing and it's very exciting, yeah.
Speaker 1:And while we have had all 50 countries at one point, or all 50 states, I should say, at one point or another, that have come to the conference in one year, 49 states. So we have to call out that one that didn't show up. So which state was?
Speaker 2:that. I know it was New Hampshire who did not come this year. They have come. They even came last year and they've come several of our previous years. But New Hampshire let us down a little bit this year. So New Hampshire, if anybody from New Hampshire is listening or you've come to the conference before please come back next year. Help us get to all 50 states in one year.
Speaker 1:That's right. What up New Hampshire? Like you were not in the place representing your state, but that's okay.
Speaker 2:They took a year off and it was the wrong year to take off.
Speaker 1:Exactly so tell us any highlights from this year's conference. I mean, it was the 20th year, so anything that we did special this year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did a couple things special. We put together some compilation videos of pictures and messages from previous years, just kind of looking back, you know, when you hit those big milestones. You kind of look back over the years on, you know how you started where you've come and where you've grown into now.
Speaker 2:So we did kind of, you know, a little blast into the past and then we did a video hearing from survivors who have come over the past 20 years and how the conference has impacted them. We also I also did a little surprise thing for Celia that she didn't know about and surprised her on the last day of individuals who have worked closely with her over the past 20 years on the conference and kind of some serious and funny memories that they've had of Celia, and so that was very touching just to celebrate Celia and all the work that she has done over these past two decades.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was so funny because the day that that video was shown I had no idea, of course, and Anna is sort of rushing through this agenda that we have laid out and I'm thinking to myself, oh my gosh, she's going too fast, like we're going to run out of time, we're going to just have dead air and we're not going to be able to get a little nervous about that. But, and that was wonderful, because all my friends and my peeps and my village from all around the world spoke about the conference and our work together and it was amazing amazing, I would have to say. I love the compilation videos as well. My favorite was just the survivors talking about what the conference has meant for them and their participation and whatever their own words was just really just grounded us in the reasons very vividly and very directly that we should continue another 20 years.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, keep on going. A couple other of the like new things that we did this year we updated our virtual conference platform that we call the conference web app with a little sort of like gamification to encourage attendees to explore more, see all the things that it has to offer. So attendees could earn stars by completing achievements. So that was just a fun thing. And then in our conference directory, where it lists everybody's name, it also shows how many stars you've earned under your name, so you can see oh, this person's only earned one star. This person earned all four stars that they could get. So just a fun little something to encourage people to interact with it more and interact with each other. And then another huge thing that we did this year that was kind of apart from our international conference was we launched our new high school online program that we're calling HSOF, because we love a good acronym here. So high school online program, hsof. So this replaced our live high school summit that we used to do in conjunction with our international conference every year.
Speaker 2:We just weren't getting a lot of engagement from students. It's difficult for them to take out time during a school day and it being virtual, so we decided to create content that was going to be freely accessible online at any time of the year so teachers or students can access it on their own schedule. Teachers can incorporate it into their curriculum throughout the year if they want. Our students can look at it in their free time or even, like after school programs or things like that, can use it. So, very excited about that. We've already had many people sign up to get access to that.
Speaker 2:So it is only specifically for high school students and those who work with high schoolers. So if that is you listening and you work with high schoolers, you're in a school or you know people that work with high schoolers, check out our website, traffickingconferencecom, or email me at traffickingconferencegmailcom so we can get you hooked up with that high school online program curriculum. It's a lot of great information about human trafficking, but also about sexual assault, drug abuse, gun violence, internet safety and then kind of within each of those, what to look for and then what you can do. It can give you steps on like how to get involved. So it's not just information, it's also action steps. So we were very excited to launch that this year and it kind of just stayed. It kind of lined up with it being our 20th annual conference, so that was another way that we were able to celebrate this year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like a sort of work smarter, not harder so giving access all year round, not just one day, and I'd love to do a podcast just more specifically on HSOP and kind of walking people through it. But they can get started checking it out now and having access to it now. So that is our gift to the world for the 20th year. So, and people that, of course, attended the conference got the jump. They got to learn about this early, so, but of course, it's accessible and free to anybody who wants to access it and have information already ready made for you. So, anything else in particular about this year's conference, anything that you that stood out to you that you really liked- Well, for me it was great.
Speaker 2:We have just had another seamless, good year. Every year with this virtual event, I feel like we are getting better and better, growing and growing, but I only get to experience a little bit of part of it, or behind the scenes. Just I don't get to sit in any of the sessions, so I just get to hear from attendees and so we have an overall conference evaluation that attendees fill out at the end. And I was able to go through that not too long ago and kind of read through the comments of people who attended, what they liked, what they thought. You know, maybe we could improve for next year's what they walked away with in some specific sessions. So I pulled some quotes that kind of stood out to me. So I'd love to kind of just go through a couple of those, if that works for you, celia.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah goodie the excellent. So just a couple of like overall things. One person said you know we've been talking about it being the 20th annual one. So somebody said I loved that this conference has been around for 20 years providing information and tools to providers and survivors. The tribute to Celia was great People deserve their flowers. I also love the diverse survivor led topics and insights from providers. So there's somebody you know acknowledging the great work that we've done for these 20 years and that they loved the conference. Another person said that this was my first year attending. I liked that there were so many different things to learn from and that even though I was attending one session, I could download information from another. So love to hear this from a first time attendee, love that we're still getting new people every year and that you know they kind of just highlighted that even though there's so many sessions, they could watch some live and then afterwards they could watch more later or they could still access those PowerPoint slides.
Speaker 1:So before you move on, explain that a little bit. How many sessions did we have? What are you talking about? Can watch it after the conference.
Speaker 2:Yes, so this year we had about 110 presentations over the three days, which is so many to choose from. So people probably had between eight to 10 breakout sessions during each breakout time to choose from. And since that is so many and since we are an international conference with people in different time zones, we allowed attendees for three entire weeks after the conference to be able to watch the recorded presentations on demand on their free time, and they were also able to download PowerPoint slides, download any handout, so they could still access all the information that they wanted to if they couldn't get it during the live conference.
Speaker 1:Yeah and that, and can you just remind us the cost of the conference, because I know conferences are six and $700. I've gone to conferences that's $800. So how much is our conference?
Speaker 2:Yeah, this past year it was $250 for the three days. So yeah, with 110 breakout sessions, that's a pretty good bank for your buck.
Speaker 2:I was even looking at conferences that are upcoming. This morning when I was working and I was seeing like $400 to $500 and that's less than what you had mentioned, but that was still a little bit of sticker shock for me. So we are try to make this as affordable as possible. The prices might increase a little bit For next year. We'll be revisiting that in the springtime, so stay tuned. Stay tuned for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we have to keep the technology crisp. We have to, and so it starts to get a little bit costly, but we're gonna try to keep those prices more affordable for people so that they can really come and partake of the information and not break the bank. So, but yeah, read some more comments of people's thoughts. I think that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so kind of on the same lines, like with that technology, someone said the online format allows people from all over the world to attend and collaborate. This also allows people who would not normally be able to attend due to other conflicts to squeeze in a session or two when possible. So I know that people do miss the in-person format and there is definitely a place for that and I love that conferences are getting back to in-person. But with us we are in a unique opportunity as a virtual international conference to just bring people from all over the world who might not necessarily have the funds to be able to travel internationally or can't take the time off work, so they're able to just fit in a session or two. So I love that. That person highlighted that.
Speaker 2:And then another thing with technology. Someone said technology was seamless this year. In the past years there was some more issues, which is understandable. However, each year the team seems to get better at figuring them out. So I was happy that someone had a good technology experience with the conference this year. Of course, we're always going to have some of those things that we can't foresee or fix, but we are trying to get better and better each year. Yeah, and I think.
Speaker 1:Zoom has helped us out. Like because of the pandemic, unfortunately, people have had to meet using Zoom a lot, and so people are becoming more comfortable clicking on things and following along, and we've made our sessions and places to visit and see people's materials and things like we made it so simple and easy to do that even people who have a very rudimentary understanding of technology are able to get around at our conference, not to mention that you, every so many hours, actually go through things that actually remind people. Okay, don't forget to click here, and there's little arrows that you have that show people, remind people how to do their session evaluations and the overall evaluations and how to get to the vending area to look at people's materials. And so can you recall any of the vendors that we had this year? That might have been pretty cool.
Speaker 2:We had about 25 vendors this year that were a mix between resource vendors who provided just information on services they provide, so that included, you know, some of our local organizations that are involved with our coalition were there providing information about their programming and things like that. So there was Child Welfare Information Gateway, relinkorg, which provides, you know, a hub for a bunch of different services. We had the SOAP project and we had a safe at home from Maryland State of Health and Human Services. So those were pretty cool. And then some of the other ones that sold products that were our retail vendors.
Speaker 2:My favorite personally it was called Ring True and they had they actually gave us several products to raffle off for free to several lucky winners and they had these really fun like fidget rings that were a set of two. I thought those were really cool. And then they also had some really pretty bracelets and I got some of those as Christmas presents this year for people in my life, so love them. And then there was also some people who were selling consulting services, like Sayla Consulting, and they gave away free, like a three hour consulting to an organization, which was great. Some people who were selling books and selling other like trainings and resources. So we love our vendors and love to highlight them. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And the SOAP, by the way, are these little SOAPs that people give to hotels and motels, so they were a good resource vendor for people who might just want to be involved in providing. And on the back of the SOAPs are the 1-800-HUMAN-TRAFKING number. And then that Ring True. We did a, I did a podcast with them and they are amazing. They're two sisters going through the pandemic and one of them was like hey, let's just start this business and help people. It's like, oh, do we know about business? No, do we know how to make jewelry? No, let's do it, it'd be great.
Speaker 1:And they did it. It's actually very successful and they're able to help programs, not only like make donations, but now they're starting to train people survivors with lived experience to make the rings. So it's like it really caught on. I mean, I wouldn't advise people to go out and just create something. You know nothing about the business in and nothing about the creative in. But man, they did it and it came together and it worked very well. So in our 20th year we also were able to produce some really cool t-shirts and get those t-shirts, and what did?
Speaker 2:they say yes, we had exclusive 20th annual t-shirts that had our logo and celebrating 20 years on them, and then we had a brand from Worthwile Ware, who was also another vendor at our conference, and so they provide these ethically sourced, organic, fair trade shirts that you know. We were able to put our own brand on them, and so they do that for other businesses and agencies that want to sell their branded t-shirts, and then I believe they also sell. Worthwile has their own product line too, if you just want to shop and support them. So that was really exciting and I think you did a podcast with them as well, celia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did, and they do, a lot of anti-trafficking work in terms of now getting into hiring people who are survivors doing all kinds of great work. So, yeah, if your company happens to be ordering t-shirts or ordering products, please check them out first. Put your money where your mouth is and purchase people who are trying to do that great work. Anything else about this past conference that we need to tell people about?
Speaker 2:Just a couple other things and quotes, wanted to highlight a couple sessions that people really enjoyed. I have a long list of presenters and sessions that people loved that we're hoping to bring back for next year, but some of the ones that really stood out. We had several sessions this year on familial trafficking and so I'm glad that we have been highlighting that over the past several years. Each year we get a couple more sessions on familial trafficking. So a couple of people said so. One individual said that they I am a survivor of familial trafficking so my heart, going to this, was to understand how this is being talked about, understood and addressed with service providers. I think there is a long way to go with helping service providers to understand and know how to address childhood trauma, but I think these presenters are absolutely amazing. So we do have a long way to go, but I love that it is being talked about, especially having survivors of familial trafficking who are presenters but then who are also attending these other sessions and seeing themselves in these presentations, and that they're not alone and they have this community with them.
Speaker 2:Another person said to have survivors who have thrived to the level of strength and competence to equip themselves, to reach back and help others is the ultimate level of self-sufficiency and growth. This specific presenter is a role model for survivors who can reach this stage of recovery and personal growth. Thank you for your raw honesty and passion. I've commented before about the increase in conference sessions pertaining to familial trafficking. Most of us assume that children caught in this web of horror are runaway, throwaway giveaway victims. It is difficult to think that children cannot find safety within their own homes, which is nothing new. So again, just bringing to light familial trafficking and to have these really strong, thriver presenters at the conference is amazing.
Speaker 1:Well, I love people in their evaluation really take their comments to heart. Like sometimes you go to a conference and it's like I'm just gonna check off the bomb and I don't write anything because who cares? They're not gonna really. But people that come to our conference, they really make their comments, are thoughtful, intentional, and we actually read them and we focus on them and we try to make improvements based on people's thoughts. So I just hope that people will continue to be passionate and intentional when they speak to us about the conference and what we're doing well and what we could improve. So but go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there was just one other session that people spoke highly well, several sessions that people spoke highly on, but this one kind of stood out to me too. It was the session on moral injury and there was a couple of survivors who wrote some pretty profound and powerful comments. So one person said this presentation was timely for where I'm at in my recovery. It didn't just speak to me, it screamed to me in a good way towards healing. I'm looking forward to watching the recorded session and researching the idea of moral injury. I hope professionals will pick up on the importance of this concept and seek to understand it more, and I hope I'll be able to figure it out more for myself. Once again, thank you. And then another person in the same session wrote thank you so much for this session.
Speaker 2:I'm still reeling from how this session impacted me. I've been on my own roller coaster healing journey for 24 years and after seeing this presentation I know this is what my life in healing journey is missing. I will for sure be looking into this more. I hope to continue to hear more about moral injury in the future. Thank you so much. So those just stuck out to me and it gives me a little bit of chills, and I love that we are still able to bring new concepts and these powerful topics that aren't just for our service providers, our academics, our researchers, but are also really impacting survivors on their healing journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's so powerful. I mean, that is something that somebody that took the time to reflect and again gave us something thoughtful, very intentional, and you're right, like this is the purpose of the conference. Yes, we have to get academics, yes, we have to get practitioners to understand that trafficking is not one dimensional. There's a lot of intersectionalities, there's a lot of complexity. It's not like a caricature of something. It's very complex and there are nuances and we have to get people on the right page as they're doing research, as they're practicing. But we also try and it seems like we've gotten through to send the message that the world is standing with you to support you and your recovery and to honor what you are trying to do as you walk your path to healing. I think that is something that we try to convey and it seems, at least in these people that commented, that you read the message received.
Speaker 1:So that is worth all of the work that we do all year, because that is exactly they're speaking to us to keep this up and to keep going down that path. I mean, we have some areas that we know we can improve upon. We can always improve in technology. We can, you know. But yeah, I think that they're speaking loud and clear to tell us to keep doing what we're doing. So anything else we need to add.
Speaker 2:I think, just on the note of keep doing what we're doing, I'd love to talk about some of the key dates for our 2024 conference.
Speaker 2:So looking forward to next year. So not only you know we wrapped up everything with 2023. Now we're moving on to next year already and planning that. So I just announced this morning on our social media pages the save the dates for next year. So we are remaining virtual again for our next year's conference. So it will be on September 18th through the 20th. Again, that is a Wednesday through Friday. So the three day virtual conference Very excited about that.
Speaker 2:Our registration will open June 3rd. So I know it's like you know, we're getting into the cold winter months. June and summer seems so far away, but believe me, it will come quickly. Keep up to date on our website. If you want to be on our email list, email me at traffickingconferencegmailcom.
Speaker 2:But probably the date that is coming up quickest is our call for presentations. So if you are interested in being one of the many breakout presentations at our conference whether you are a direct service provider, run a program, have completed research, you work in healthcare, law enforcement or in the legal side of things, whether you're a survivor who would like to share their story we are accepting presentations starting on Monday, january 8th. So that is just about you know. A month from now, we will be starting to accept presentations and then that will be open for a couple months and the last day to submit will be March 31st. So you've got that January through March to put in your application for presentations. So you know we're just hitting the ground running in the new year and excited to see what 2024 brings.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I mean, and you know also, if you're a social worker, a nurse, a teacher, a politician, I mean there are so many ways, so many perspectives, so much work being done out there. Like, don't count yourself out. Maybe you have some great information to share, maybe you've been doing a few years of some really good work. So you should know that when you submit your abstract, people will review it, will critique it and you'll be selected. So also don't think just because you submit an abstract you will be presenting there is. It is competitive.
Speaker 1:But please, if you have information, if you have a level of expertise, please submit, because some of the issues with some of the people doing the best work is they don't feel like they're perfect, that they're not ready, that they're not, and so a lot of this great knowledge from these people doing great work. We don't get to learn about what you do. So if you're doing something you think it's at the level, you need to share it. If there's a level of expertise there, as people need to know, please try. And you know what? If you don't get selected this year, so what?
Speaker 1:It doesn't mean that you're not doing great work. It just means that it is highly competitive. There are a lot of people submitting. But please try it, because if you're not selected this year, maybe next year. But please don't sit on your great, creative, hard advocacy work that you've done and think that people don't want to hear about it. So, if you so choose, try to submit an abstract and be a part of the family, be a part of the village and share what you know next year. So anything else, anna.
Speaker 2:No, I think that about wraps it up for this year's conference. So thanks again to everyone who was a part of it, from the presenters to the attendees, volunteer sponsors, and thanks to you, celia, again for laying the groundwork and doing this fight for, I know, at least two decades with the conference, but more before that. So it's been another great year in the books. Looking forward to next year, stay up to date on our website, traffickingconferencecom. Email me with any questions at traffickingconferencegmailcom and we will see you all next year.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, anna. Thank you for what you do to organize all of these countries and states and the platform and the vending booths and the t-shirts and the giveaway gifts and all of the things that make this conference amazing and keeps people coming back and brings new people. So with that we'll say we'll see you next year at the conference. As the fight continues, let's not just do something, let's do the best thing. If you liked this episode of Emancipation Nation, please subscribe and I'll send you the weekly podcast. Until then, the fight continues.