Students from Around the World Take Action to Fight Modern-Day Slavery on CNN’s 8th Annual #MyFreedomDay
ATLANTA, GA – (March 5, 2023) – March 14 is CNN’s #MyFreedomDay. Now in its 8th year, the day will see students from more than 100 countries raise awareness of modern-day slavery, focusing on forced child labor and the more than 3 million children made to do jobs most adults would struggle to endure.
Thousands of students from schools from all over the world, from Colombia to Laos, Madagascar and the Maldives, will show their support for victims and their aversion to this form of slavery by hosting on-campus events including assemblies, workshops, mural paintings, film shoots, bake sales and various other fundraising activities for their local anti-trafficking organizations.
Throughout the day, the CNN Freedom Project will highlight some of these creative, student-led events, and also document real stories of children toiling in the mines, fields and factories around the world. Stories of forced child labor from Brazil, India, Nepal and the United States, will be featured on CNN International’s programming.
People all over the world are encouraged to participate by posting to social media, using the hashtag #MyFreedomDay, which will be featured on CNN’s #MyFreedomDay microsite, CNN.com/MyFreedom. The site will also offer interactive content and education tools for students and broader audiences worldwide to support them in their efforts to join this cause.
Leif Coorlim, executive editor of the CNN Freedom Project, said: “To witness students from all over the world mobilize to raise awareness of forced child labor is inspiring and gives us hope for the future. These children realize that the fortunes of too many children around the world are very different from their own, with more than 3 million children currently forced to work in dangerous or exploitative conditions. Since CNN launched #MyFreedomDay in 2017, I’m continually impressed by the bright ideas and bold actions students around the world come up with to fight modern-day slavery.”
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About The CNN Freedom Project
The CNN Freedom Project produces original reports, articles, and documentaries on human trafficking in all of its forms – from debt bondage in India to sex trafficking rings in Southern California and African slaves in the Sinai desert. Since its launch in 2011, the multi-award-winning CNN Freedom Project is among the most successful and highly visible programming initiatives on CNN International. It has generated more than 1,000 investigative stories of modern-day slavery from across six continents. Various NGOs report that these CNN Freedom Project stories have contributed to changing laws and corporate policies, led to more than 2,000 survivors receiving assistance and sparked more than $25 million in donations to anti-trafficking organizations. www.cnn.com/freedom
About CNN Worldwide
CNN Worldwide is the most honored brand in cable news, reaching more individuals through television, streaming and online than any other cable news organization in the United States. Globally, people across the world can watch CNN International, which is widely distributed in over 200 countries and territories. CNN Digital is the #1 online news destination, with more unique visitors than any other news source. Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform, features CNN Max, a 24/7 streaming news offering available to subscribers alongside expanded access to News content and CNN Originals. CNN’s award-winning portfolio includes non-scripted programming from CNN Original Series and CNN Films for broadcast, streaming and distribution across multiple platforms. CNN programming can be found on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español channels, via CNN Max and the CNN Originals hub on discovery+ and via pay TV subscription on CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with over 1,000 local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery.