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On October 22nd and 23rd, Empowerment Collective’s Founder and Program Director, Nasreen Sheikh and Sahin Pravin, attended the 10th Annual Florida International Trade and Cultural Expo (FITCE). FITCE welcomed local and international companies to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a unique opportunity to engage high-level government leaders, international trade experts, and delegations from around the world and participate in dialogues relating to international trade, foreign direct

On October 11th, 2025, Grace Farms publicly unveiled a portrait of Empowerment Collective’s Founder, Nasreen Sheikh, along with a symphony crafted to musically convey Nasreen’s journey from survivor to globally-impactful advocate.   The portrait, hand-painted by artist Hannah Rose Thomas, was created using egg tempera paint mixed from natural pigments — a technique traditionally used for religious art. Thomas’s use of iconography and early Renaissance painting techniques and

This October, Empowerment Collective (virtually) attended two UN Constructive Dialogues within the series of five Constructive Dialogues for the Review Mechanism of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which took place in person in Vienna, Austria.   The Constructive Dialogues are dialogues between non-governmental stakeholders and State Parties on the five topics of the Working Groups to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNT

Chained Reactions' panelists at the Climate Action Museum (from the left): Dr. Howard Rosing (moderator), Dr. Noha Shawki, Jennifer Heyside, Sahin Pravin, Adeline Daab . On August 8th, Empowerment Collective hosted an event at the Chicago Climate Action Museum (CAM). Titled Chained Reactions: How Modern Slavery & the Climate Crisis Escalate Together, this event featured a panel discussion exploring the deep and cyclical interconnections between two of the most critical crises

On Sunday, September 28th, Empowerment Collective hosted our  first-ever official NYC Climate Week Event: an educational zoom conversation exploring the intersection of modern slavery and the climate crisis.   The panel was moderated by our ally, founder of Physical Intelligence Institute Dr. Claire Dale, and featured two voices from Empowerment Collective's team along with Anyi Hobson, the multi-talented founder of SEAM Advisory, a company that helps organizations define, li

In the early days of spring, the Empowerment Collective stepped onto the world stage through two landmark events:  an International Peace Institute gathering that showcased Nasreen's and the Collective’s work at the intersection of art and activism, and the Grace Farms Design for Freedom (DFF) Summit, where a conversation with Nasreen became the centerpiece of a breakout session on social entrepreneurship. These moments mark important milestones in the parallel journeys of Na

Geneva, Switzerland At the end of June, Empowerment Collective's Founder, Nasreen Sheikh, traveled to Geneva to participate in a meeting with the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. This was the first in-person meeting of the Global Commission since the launch of the Commission's first report  in April of this year.   As a commissioner, Nasreen contributed to high-level discussions around strategies for implementing the Commission's recommendations at v

On April 8th, 2025, the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking launched their first report  at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. This launch shared key takeaways from the report with members of the UN, and allowed commissioners, survivors and other report contributors to share valuable personal insights on the report's content through speaking opportunities and panel discussions. A Brief History of Empowerment Collective's Involvement with t

While we have continued our long-term initiatives over the past two months—from our survivor-led programs on the ground in Nepal and India to our contributions to high-level policy change through the Global Commission —May and June have also brought us new connections, experiences, and ideas to reflect on.   Empowerment Collective has had the privilege of cultivating a meaningful relationship with the International Center for MultiGenerational Legacies of Trauma (ICMGLT) —a c