Pan American Development Foundation Builds Alliance with Telefonica, Cinepolis, MTV, and Private and Public Sectors to Address Mexico's Human Trafficking Problem

Upcoming November 30 meetings in Mexico City to further increase dialogue between Mexico's government, anti-human trafficking focused civil society groups, and the private sector

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With Mexico becoming a growing destination, source, and transit country for trafficked persons, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is implementing an initiative to support the Mexican government, civil society, and the private sector in their efforts to raise awareness and support prevention of trafficking in persons.

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With support from the U.S. Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), Telefonica Foundation, Cinepolis, and MTV Latin America, and participation of  the Mexican government and local civil society groups, PADF's Multi-Sector Engagement Alliance to Reduce Trafficking in Persons in Mexico project is focused on facilitating the creation of a tri-partite alliance to focus on prevention of trafficking in persons, particularly of youth, and to raise awareness, and increase visibility of the problem within Mexican society. 

"PADF is working right now with local non-profit groups to provide a space for dialogue between all actors—civil, public, and private—in an effort to better target labor exploitation and other trafficking issues affecting youth today," said Louis Alexander, PADF Senior Programs Director. "As a result of these and future efforts, we hope that public attitudes about trafficking will change, something that is critical if we want this problem to end."

This 24-month initiative, which is sponsoring a new round of discussions on November 30 in Mexico City, will complement and support existing efforts by the Mexican government to combat trafficking. Civil society and NGO subgrantees will receive targeted resources to help them raise awareness and educate the public about human trafficking in Mexico in order to help prevent youth from becoming victims. Partnerships with Telefonica Foundation, Cinepolis, and MTV, and other organizations are increasing the impact and effectiveness of the prevention message developed under this program.

"We believe that it is fundamental to empower civil society organizations to articulate their work with the government as well as with other players involved in the prevention of human trafficking in Mexico in order to develop a network of collaborative strategies that help provide answers and solutions to this problem," said Oscar Battiston, Pronino program director for the Telefonica Foundation. "In this manner, Telefonica Foundation develops awareness and communication activities through a network of schools in order to prevent human trafficking, one of the worst forms of child exploitation."

On November 30, PADF will host a new round of meetings in Mexico's capital in an effort to further increase dialogue between the Mexican government, civil society groups, and private sector partners. Expected at the upcoming round table meetings are representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's Office, the National Human Rights Commission, the Organization for International Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), local non-governmental organizations, and corporate campaign partners, including Telefonica Foundation, Cinepolis, and MTV, among other actors. 

In recent years, Mexico has been thrust into the center of a growing human trafficking problem that has seen increased trafficking of persons throughout North and Central America for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Among the most vulnerable are children, teenagers and women that have little education and are in a precarious economic condition. Up to 20,000 children alone are trafficked for sexual purposes every year in Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of State's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for 2008.

"Our role is to reach a segment of Mexico's society that has not been touched by other campaigns. We believe that targeting youth is very positive, especially for prevention reasons, because many of them are vulnerable and at risk of trafficking," said Mario Cader-French, vice president for public affairs and corporate social responsibility for MTV Networks Latin America.

"Human trafficking is not just affecting people from a particular segment of our society, but it's eroding the very core of our communities. This is why it's crucial that as responsible and committed citizens of our country that we partner and work together to bring about change," said Lorena Guille-Laris, Cinepolis Foundation's executive director.

That collaboration was present at the Cinepolis Foundation Fourth International Human Rights Film Festival held in Mexico City from August 30 to September 4. During the festival, which drew many international filmmakers and thousands of participants, nearly 30 screened films dealt with violence against women, human trafficking, slavery, human rights abuses, political involvement in support of human rights, and other relevant themes. PADF and more than 15 other entities collaborated in this event, including the United Nations, the Embassy of Spain in Mexico, and the Government of Mexico.

At the festival PADF also participated in a panel discussion that focused on human trafficking issues. The panel, moderated by a representative of Mexico's Human Rights National Commission, featured Mexican Congresswoman Rosi Orozco, President of the Trafficking in Person Commission; Maria Jose Lopez, Gender and Rights Area Chief for the United Nations Population Fund; and Monica Salazar, Mexico Program Coordinator for PADF.

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To contribute to PADF, please contact 877.572.4484 or give online at www.padf.org.

About PADF
PADF is a non-profit organization established in 1962 to promote, facilitate and implement social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2010, it helped more than 10.2 million beneficiaries in 22 countries. Headquartered in Washington DC, PADF has field offices in Haiti and Colombia. www.padf.org

About Telefonica Foundation
Telefonica Foundation contributes to social development through access to knowledge. It does so through its own innovative social programs that use information technologies and communication (TIC), in addition to collaborative networks. In 2010, Telefonica Foundation invested 80 million Euros, worked with more than 800 educational, social, public and private entities, and implemented almost 5,000 initiatives that benefited more than 37 million people in 14 countries.

About Cinepolis
Cinepolis is the world's 5th largest movie theater circuit, operating more than 2,000 screens in 6 countries and serving more than 100 million patrons annually. The company aspires to provide its patrons the best overall experience in filmed entertainment and employs a global workforce of 13,000 people to support its mission. Founded in 1971, Cinepolis is privately held and is headquartered in Morelia, Mexico. www.Cinepolis.com

About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire. www.mtv.com

SOURCE Pan American Development Foundation