Thomson Reuters Announces 2017 Anti-Slavery Summit in Hong Kong

Summit to focus on technology, data and regulatory solutions for businesses to tackle modern-day slavery and human-trafficking in Asia
HONG KONG, August 7, 2017 – Thomson Reuters today announced it will host the 2017 Anti-Slavery Summit in Hong Kong on 29 August, with a focus on technology, data and regulatory solutions that tackle slavery and human-trafficking in Asia. The event will bring together influential business and thought leaders, corporate CEOs, human rights advocates, NGOs, government and the legal community to discuss major issues surrounding slavery in this region and continue the fight to end a $US 150 billion global industry.

Estimates show that more than 46 million people across the globe live as modern-day slaves. Many of these people are in forced labour operating in our supply chains or unknowingly supported and financed by activities hidden in our businesses. Asia accounts for more than half of the world’s most exploited people, with India and China facing significant issues with trafficked individuals.

The Honourable Mrs. Anson Chan Former Chief Secretary for HKSAR will be the patron of the event and provide a welcome address. Internationally renowned humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine will discuss her work and showcase a series of her photographs capturing modern day acts of slavery. Other speakers at the Summit include:

Luis CdeBaca, US Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Aditi Wanchoo, Senior Manager, Social & Environmental Affairs, Adidas
Alan Leigh, Managing Director, International Business Controls Executive, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Rob Smith, Senior Technical Architect, Salesforce
Jelita Pandjaitan, Partner, Linklaters
Scott Stiles, CEO, Fair Employment Agency, Hong Kong
Archana Kotecha, Head of Legal, Liberty Asia
Matt Friedman, CEO, Mekong Club
Grant Bowie, CEO, MGM Macau
Houtan Homayounpour, Global Business Network on Forced Labour and Human Trafficking, International Labour Organisation, Geneva
Bob Schukai, Head of Digital Identity, Thomson Reuters
Yun Gao, Ethical Trading Initiative, China
Leanne Kemp, Founder & CEO, Everledger
Dr Hannah Tinyane, Principal Researcher, UNU Macau
Kimberley Cole, Head of Solutions Sales, Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters said, “Thomson Reuters is in a unique position to bring together its core business capabilities and its community of customers to focus on taking action to end modern day slavery. With 60% of the world’s most exploited people in Asia, an increasing number of businesses and corporates in this region are realizing it’s an issue that cannot be ignored. Given our strength in using data to solve complex problems and our legal and regulatory solutions along with our technology platforms we want to work toward innovative solutions to stop this extremely profitable crime. Building off the momentum of the previous Trust Forum Asia events held in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the 2017 Anti-Slavery Summit will be the first event in Asia to take a deep dive into how technology, including blockchain and digital identity, along with data solutions, enhanced risk procedures, and regulation can tackle slavery.”

Archana Kotecha, Head of Legal, Liberty Asia Hong Kong, said, “Liberty Asia is delighted to be partnering with Thomson Reuters for the Anti-Slavery Summit. This Summit presents a unique opportunity for a wide array of local, regional and global stakeholders to engage and innovate collectively to find impactful means of combating modern day slavery using data, legal frameworks and technology. We view the Summit as a platform for a deeper and more meaningful engagement of the private sector in combating human trafficking, forced labour and modern day slavery in Asia and beyond.”

Rob Smith, Senior Technical Architect, Salesforce, said, “Our 1-1-1 integrated philanthropy model really comes to life when we work NGOs like Liberty Asia and partnering with Thomson Reuters for the Anti-Slavery Summit to bring awareness to modern day slavery issues. Empowering Liberty Asia with data insights and cloud-based technology to streamline their database management practices goes a long way in helping them track and identify human trafficking. I am humbled and blessed that Salesforce empowers us to volunteer our time for the causes we believe in. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing how our work and technology is changing the world for the better.”

Matthew Friedman, CEO, Mekong Club, said, “Over the past two years, Hong Kong’s private sector has repeatedly stepped up to explore solutions to tackle modern slavery across Asia. We see this in banking, manufacturing, retail and hospitality. This Summit will offer important lessons learned and best practices that will add value to our collective understanding and unified response.”