The ACC Hong Kong Executive Committee invites you to the following presentation, co-hosted by The Mekong Club and Baker McKenzie.
TOPIC: Modern Slavery and the Legal Impact on Businesses Today
Every five seconds, another person enters slavery somewhere in the world. It is estimated that there are over 45 million people in slavery today – more than any other time in history. Over the past three years, this issue has become a dominant topic within the private sector. To make sense of this emerging business risk, Matt Friedman (CEO of the Mekong Club), will present an update on the current state of human slavery and its relationship to business. Friedman’s talk will explore the changing human trafficking paradigm; the relationship between human trafficking and slavery; global trends and patterns; the impact of this problem on the private sector; the changing obligations within a range of business circles, and a summary of what can be done to address them.
SPEAKER:
Matt Friedman, CEO, The Mekong Club
Matt Friedman is an international human trafficking expert with more than 29 years’ experience as a manager, program designer, evaluator and frontline responder. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of The Mekong Club, an organization of Hong Kong-based private sector business leaders who have joined forces to help fight human trafficking in Asia. Mr. Friedman was previously Regional Project Manager at the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) in Thailand, an inter-agency coordinating body that linked the United Nations system with governments and civil society groups in China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Prior to this, he worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Thailand, Bangladesh and Nepal where he designed and managed country and regional human trafficking programs. Mr Friedman also offers regular technical advice to numerous governments working to stop slavery, and is the author of nine books.
The Mekong Club is one of the first not-for-profit organisations of its kind in Asia to use a ‘business-to-business’ approach to fight slavery. Bridging the gap between the public and private sectors, the Mekong Club helps companies of all sizes to understand the complexities of modern slavery and to reduce their vulnerability within their supply chains. Together with business partners, we are spearheading innovative and strategic projects to achieve a slave-free world.
EVENT DETAILS:
If you have any suggestions for topics or speakers for future ACC Hong Kong events, please let us know at events@hkcca.net.
Please note this event is exclusively for ACC Hong Kong members. If you are not an ACC Hong Kong member but you want to attend this presentation, you need to successfully apply for membership at www.hkcca.net and pay the membership fee before registering for the event. If you have any membership queries, please contact ACC Hong Kong Secretariat on info@hkcca.net or (852) 2516 7007.
