Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
- EMPOWERMENT COLLECTIVE
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
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 various scales. The Commission also met with influential leaders within the International Labor Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), forging important long-term partnerships to continue building collaborative momentum towards a world free from exploitation.
London, England
After the Global Commission meetings concluded, Nasreen headed to London to attend and speak at Phoenix 2: ‘Achieve the Impossible,’ a Global Leadership Conference hosted by Aspire. The conference aimed at inspiring and empowering women leaders to achieve extraordinary results in their self-defined goals and projects, faster and with more ease than they would on their own. The conference was hosted by Aspire founder Dr. Sam Collins, and featured speakers from a diversity of fields and backgrounds.
Nasreen partnered with Dr. Claire Dale, founder and director of The Physical Intelligence® Institute, to share with conference attendees a brief background of their mentorship experience and present about an emerging mentorship program in which survivor leaders in Nepal and India will be paired with trained Physical Intelligence coaches and provided with technological resources to make cross-border coaching a possibility. Through this partnership, survivor leaders will gain valuable skills for processing their emotions and experiences, connecting with themselves and their environment, and leading confidently and courageously.
Aspire's Phoenix 2 was a spark of inspiration for us, guiding us into a space of collaborative brainstorming with bright female leaders from around the world and supporting us in further shaping our plan to bring this mentorship program to life.
New York, NY
On July 15th, Nasreen traveled to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. There, she represented Empowerment Collective at Innovative Digital and Sustainable Finance For Preventing and Addressing Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, a side event of the UNDP Finance Against Slavery & Trafficking (FAST) 2025 High Level Political Forum.
This event provided a platform for industry professionals, civil society organizations, survivor advocates, and financial sector actors to explore their roles in leveraging financial and digital innovation to help close the investment gap in addressing modern slavery and human trafficking.
Nasreen's speech reminded the audience that today’s technologies give us a historic opportunity to make the invisible visible, to ensure that no human being is left unprotected simply because they don’t exist on paper. Nasreen clearly outlined priorities for morally-driven financial innovations that will bring us closer to justice for the 50 million people globally enduring similar realities to the exploitation Nasreen experienced in childhood:
1) Supply chain mapping: it is essential to develop technology that documents every person and every product within a supply chain, making laborers and their working conditions—as well as raw materials and the environmental impacts of their extraction—visible to companies and consumers.
2) Digital identity and financial inclusion: millions remain undocumented and excluded from financial systems and the protection of state services. Improving access to biometrically-linked digital IDs paired with mobile accessible bank accounts can grant laborers legal and financial identity and protection.
3) Redistribution of wealth to those who are systemically under-resourced: finance is still not reaching the people and places where it can make the most impact. Closing the investment gap means directing funds to survivor leaders, frontline defenders, and grassroots solutions.
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