Freedom Week was a March 2011 campaign that took place in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada to raise awareness about contemporary slavery. The campaign was organized by Tara Teng, who was Miss Canada at the time, and Todd Hauptman, a worker in the office of Member of the Legislative Assembly Mary Polak. The campaign was primarily young-adult-organized; there was not much input from older adults. Teng's father found this fact "the most amazing thing about Freedom Week." Teng said that "victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation were found in communities all across the Lower Mainland" that year. She had hoped to use the event to connect people with organizations opposing human trafficking, and also to form relationships between these organizations. Before the campaign, she was in talks with Not for Sale, Exodus Cry, and International Justice Mission. The campaign involved a prayer meeting, performance art in various locations, and a walk in Langley. and the walk became the main event of the Freedom Week campaign. and included an information session in Douglas Park. Speakers at the information session included Peter Fassbender, Mayor of the City of Langley; Mark Warawa, MP for Langley; and Jamie McIntosh, founder of IJM Canada. The three spoke about human trafficking on a local, national, and international level respectively. Teng expected that attendees would be surprised by the information they were given and she hoped that they would be moved to action against human trafficking. Teng expected 2000 people to attend. Teng said that the beauty of the week came from the fact that it included "people of all ages, from all walks of life, banding together". All of the events were free, but donations were accepted for organizations opposing human trafficking.
|
