Young Voices against Human Trafficking

PADF
2 min readOct 10, 2014

Central America has become a point of origin and transit and a destination for human trafficking. Each year thousands of women, youth, children and migrants become victims of this unscrupulous business.

To highlight this problem and protect youth, PADF expanded its already successful Tu Voz Contra la Trata de Personas (YourVoice Against Human Trafficking) campaign from Mexico to Guatemala and other countries in the region to alert, educate, empower and support young people to achieve their goals and avoid putting their lives at risk.

Given that violence and organized crime are two of the major issues that affect youth, PADF collaborated with partners who have extensive youth expertise, including MTV Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank and its youth network (called BID Juventud) and Cinépolis Foundation, the social arm of Latin America’s biggest cineplex chain, the Government of Guatemala, and civil society organizations.

“Human trafficking is a new form of slavery. Involving young people to empower them and prevent human trafficking is key,”

said Elena Suárez, Youth Network Unit Chief, Inter-American Development Bank.

This campaign, which also supports MTV’s global EXIT initiative, was launched by PADF in Guatemala City with the participation of more than 1,000 at-risk local youth along with 25 youth leaders from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Youths participated in interactive sessions, a documentary screening, workshops onhuman trafficking and child labor issues, leadership, and social media and communication strategies. They also learned how to become agents of change in their own communities.

“PADF is proud to have helped create this synergy with MTV Latin America and the Inter-American Development Bank. This effort clearly demonstrates how the public and private sectors can leverage the strengths of each and work together to address social issues that affect our communities,”

said Paul Fisher, Director of Corporate Partnerships and Development at PADF.

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PADF

The Pan American Development Foundation empowers people and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.