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1 INTERNATIONAL SURVIVOR
ALLIANCE FOR MODERN SLAVERY
SURVIVORS TO BE LAUNCHED
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INTERVIEW WITH VALENTINE NKOYO
A team of survivors are launching the Survivor
Alliance, an international network of modern slavery
survivors on 23 rd April. Partnering with the Rights
Lab at the University of Nottingham, the mission
of the Alliance is to unite and empower survivors of
slavery and human trafficking around the world.
The founder and director of the NGO, Minh Dang, is
studying for her PhD at the University of Nottingham
and shares with us more about the Survivor Alliance.
Where did the idea of the Survivor Alliance come from?
The initial idea for our organization began in the U.S.
in 2013, when a group of survivor leaders saw a lack of
investment in long-term and meaningful engagement
with survivor leaders. There was a growing interest
from the anti-trafficking movement in the inclusion
of survivor voices, but a lack of infrastructure to
support survivors who were sharing their expertise
and personal stories. A handful of supportive NGOs
developed training programs and survivor networking
opportunities, but they could not meet all the needs
of a growing and diverse survivor community. Also,
organisations were calling on the same survivor voices
and there was a need to grow new leaders. The idea
for the Survivor Alliance grew out of survivor leaders’
desire to fill this gap.
What is the vision for the NGO?
Our vision is a world where survivors of human
trafficking and slavery are thriving members of society.
Why is working with survivors important?
We want to empower survivors to develop solutions
for their own communities, and to collaborate with
other survivor communities around the world. We
believe that connecting survivor leaders and building
their capacity will enhance their daily lives, improve
the anti-slavery movement, and contribute best-
practices for community-based social change. Though
we support survivor leaders in the anti-slavery field,
we will support our members to pursue goals in other
industries as well.
Why is it important to launch Survivor Alliance
initiatives in the UK?
The U.K. has a tradition of anti-slavery activism and
there are growing cross-sector partnerships to provide
support for survivors. This means that more and more
survivors will live in the U.K. We think that this is a critical
time for survivor voices to be involved in program and
policy development. Based on our success in the US,
we are keen to develop the UK chapter of the Survivor
Alliance in collaboration with survivors based in the UK
to ensure their needs as survivor leaders are met.
How can organisations tackling modern slavery can
be involved?
We are keen to partner with organisations tackling
modern slavery in different countries. The organisations
can help us in different ways including:
y Reaching out to survivors through our leaflets,
posters, newsletters, social media, emails, etc.
y Referring survivors to join the membership
y Displaying and sharing our work within their
networks
y Joint bidding and co-hosting events
y Representing us in their region
How can other members of public be involved?
Members of public can help if different ways including:
y Referring survivors of modern slavery to join the
Survivor Alliance membership
y Reaching out to survivors through our leaflets,
posters, newsletters, social media etc
y Volunteers with us
y Fundraise for us
How can you be contacted?
Website: www.survivoralliance.org
Survivor Alliance membership
[email protected]
General enquiries
[email protected]