U.S. Government Supports MTV Anti-Trafficking Program

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Phnom Penh: (U.S Embassy) On the heels of National Anti-Human Trafficking Day, the U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), joined the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) program in the launch of the first-ever National Youth Forum in Cambodia on Wednesday, December 14.  The forum enables and engages young leaders from across Cambodia to spread key anti-trafficking messages to vulnerable populations across the Asia region and eliminate modern-day slavery. 
The campaign also includes the participation of the Royal Government of Cambodia, Australian Agency for International Development, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and World Vision Cambodia.  Flynn Fuller, USAID Mission Director and H.E. Chou Bun Eng, Secretary of State of Ministry of Interior and Chair of the National Committee to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labor Exploitation and Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children, participated in the opening of the forum.
    
The four-day forum brings together young Cambodian leaders, ages 18 to 25, for a series of interactive workshops with media professionals.  With the objective of strengthening the young leaders’ creative skills, local experts engage the participants with training in photography, filming, video editing, digital media and public speaking. 
Combined, these talents allow participants to produce a campaign plan to take the fight against human trafficking back to their local communities.  In the coming months, these youth leaders will then feature their engagement activities at MTV EXIT’s anti-trafficking, promotional road shows in six provinces outside of Phnom Penh.
Cambodia’s National Youth Forum follows the success of the Thailand Creative Youth Forum and the Philippines Youth Summit where participants designed media campaigns containing human trafficking awareness messages that were disseminated throughout local communities.  This grassroots approach allowed youth leaders to create a viral communication effect from their homes, schools, communities, and to the nation, thus encouraging local action against this global problem.
The U.S. government is committed to raising awareness of the dangers of human trafficking and fighting the practices of modern-day slavery.  In his official statement on the U.S.-Australia Development Cooperation last month, President Barack Obama announced the continued efforts to “raise awareness of human trafficking, through campaigns such as MTV Exit Foundation’s documentary films and concerts, which can reach hundreds of thousands of young people in the region.”