UNA-USA Dane County Events

David Lippiatt, Executive Director of WE International ( www.weinternational.org )will speak at our January 11, 2011 chapter meeting. His topic will be "A NGOs Response to Human Trafficking".

David has been involved in international development for more than ten years. WE International sponsors programs that address one of the world’s most significant social problems – human trafficking.

The United Nations’ definition of human trafficking is: “The recruitment transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of a threat, or use of force, or other forms of coercion, of abduction, or fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving o9r receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”

The UNA-Dane County has designated human trafficking/debt bondage as its theme for advocacy in 2011. It is therefore fitting that David is the first speaker of the new year. He brings a wealth of knowledge working in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Philippines to address the problem of trafficking in three substantive ways:

1.    Prevention through sustainable economic development,
2.    Restoration programs such as art therapy, and
3.    Reintegration Services entrepreneur training, microfinance services, and education scholarships.

David will speak about the causes of human trafficking and some of the solutions and the work of WE International to address the problem. He will also talk about the role of the United Nations in addressing this significant human rights problem that afflicts nearly all member states.