Ishaan (Upper Sixth) was invited to give a TEDx Talk on the topic of ‘Climate change and modern slavery: what’s the link?’. To watch his full speech, click here. 

Four years ago, Ishaan founded an anti-slavery organisation, Stolen Dreams, as part of the Year 9 Keith Dawson Independent Research Project. He is working internationally with schools, youth groups, businesses, and local governments to drive action around ending modern slavery.  

Ishaan explained that modern slavery is not often thought of as an issue that links to climate change. As he highlighted in his talk, climate change exacerbates the vulnerabilities associated with exploitation. As sea levels, temperatures and rural to urban migration increase, people become increasingly vulnerable which exposes them to a greater risk of being trafficked.  

The talk introduced the issue of modern slavery and explained how climate change affects this crime. However, the focus of Ishaan’s talk was on three ways that we as individuals, global citizens and consumers can help end modern slavery: 

1.     Educate yourself and spread the word that slavery still exists today; and is closer than we think. In the UK, there are over 100,000 victims of modern slavery.

  2.     Write to your local government to get them to adopt local strategies on tackling this issue. Slavery could be present in your constituency.

3.     Consume consciously. Before you buy something new, always ask yourself if you really need it. If you can buy from ethical stores, that is great! However, they can be expensive, so buying second hand, thrifting, or upcycling what you already have at home are great ways to counter slavery in supply chains and climate change!