Finalists in Competition to Combat Labor Trafficking ANNOUNCED

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Partnership for Freedom announced five finalists today in Rethink Supply Chains: The Tech Challenge to Fight Labor Trafficking, an innovation competition seeking technological solutions to help identify and address labor trafficking in global supply chains.

The International Labor Organization estimates that 14.2 million people are victims of forced labor in private economic activities. Goods produced with forced labor make their way into the global economy through complex supply chains.

"Forced labor in global supply chains is a systemic problem. The solutions surfaced by these finalists leverage technology to combat this problem by bringing transparency to global supply chains and elevating workers' voices across industries," said Catherine Chen, director of investments at Humanity United.

The finalists were selected by a panel of judges with expertise across corporate supply chains, human rights, philanthropy, and investing. 

The five finalists are:

Sustainability Incubator and Trace Register
Building Trust in Fishing at Sea 
A new online registry for voluntary reporting by industry of catches and onboard conditions for crews.

Mobile Accord, Inc.
Identifying Humans Rights Issues in the Fishing Industry through mobile surveys
Generates and provides data on labor conditions in the Ghanaian fishing industry to companies.

Good World Solutions
Laborlink Trafficking Module: Capturing & Mapping Millions of Data Points to Eliminate Forced Labor
Uses mobile technology to capture, analyze, and map unfiltered worker feedback to effectively address forced labor in a new way.

IST Research
PULSE Deployable Labor Trafficking System
Blends self-reporting and internet data to identify labor exploitation in dynamic environments.

Ulula
SPARTACUS: A Global Mobile Platform for Empowering Migrant Workers to End Slavery
A platform to integrate information-sharing and remittance transfers to combat human trafficking and secure better jobs and higher incomes for migrant workers.

To learn more about the finalists, please visit www.rethinksupplychains.org.

Each finalist will receive $20,000 and proceed to the Finalist Accelerator round of the competition, to further develop their proposed solutions with support from subject matter experts. One Grand Prize Winner and one Runner-Up will be announced in April 2016, and will be awarded $250,000 and $50,000, respectively.

The Partnership for Freedom is a public-private partnership led by Humanity United, in collaboration with the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of State, the Department of Labor, Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, and the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund. 

Learn more at www.partnershipforfreedom.org or follow #RethinkSupplyChains on Facebook and Twitter.

About Humanity United

Established in 2005, Humanity United is a U.S.-based foundation dedicated to building peace and advancing human freedom. At home and in the corners of the globe where these ideals are challenged most, we lead, support, and collaborate with a broad network of efforts, ideas, and organizations that share our vision of a world free of conflict and injustice. Humanity United is part of the Omidyar Group, which represents the philanthropic, personal, and professional interests of Pierre and Pam Omidyar. Learn more at www.humanityunited.org, @HumanityUnited and Facebook.com/humanityunited. Humanity United is part of The Omidyar Group: www.omidyargroup.com.

CONTACT:
Tania Stewart, [email protected], 202-478-6174
Gloria Kostadinova, [email protected], 202-478-6151

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SOURCE The Partnership for Freedom

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