International Center for MultiGenerational Legacies of Trauma (ICMGLT)
- EMPOWERMENT COLLECTIVE
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
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 collaboration that has inspired deep reflection on the many ways intergenerational trauma intersects with our efforts in communities where inherited cycles of poverty perpetuate modern slavery and exploitation.
Through an awards dinner recognizing Empowerment Collective's reparative work, and a collaborative webinar co-hosted with ICMGLT, we’ve expanded our network of passionate and visionary change-makers. Among them were fellow recipients of the 2025 Repairer Awards and a diverse group of expert panelists who contributed to the webinar discussion.
Read on to learn more about Empowerment Collective’s recent impact through our partnership with ICMGLT, and to get a glimpse of the inspiring people and organizations we’ve had the honor of engaging with through these powerful events!
ICMGLT Repairer Awards Dinner - May 14th, 2025
Empowerment Collective had the honor of being one of the two 2025 recipients of the Repairer Leadership Award. The International Center for MultiGenerational Legacies of Trauma (ICMGLT) presented the award to Empowerment Collective "for uniting survivor voices, businesses, civil society and governments to bring an end to modern slavery’s faceless casualties of oblivious incessant consumption."
Accepting Repairer Awards alongside Empowerment Collective were three organizations and individuals championing justice, cultivating healing, and promoting growth within their communities.
GirlTREK, Repairer Leadership Award :
"For mobilizing Black women nationwide to prioritize their well-being through walking, groundbreaking a powerful movement of healing, self-care, and community activism."
Mimouna Association, Repairer Heritage Preservation Award :
"For its dedication to preserving and celebrating Morocco’s rich Jewish heritage while fostering intercultural dialogue, mutual respect and understanding between Muslim and Jewish communities."
Karipbek Kuyukov, Repairer Excellence Award :
"For transforming his birth without arms due to nuclear radiation exposure to nonetheless continuously creating powerful artwork to advocate for worldwide nuclear disarmament.
Empowerment Collective's founder, Nasreen Sheikh, attended the awards ceremony dinner in New York City on May 14th to accept the honor. Nasreen delivered a profound acceptance speech conveying the importance of supporting survivors to lead the path toward collective healing, sharing the powerful insight that "trauma is not only a wound, it is also a superpower."
Linked below is a recording of the dinner and an Instagram post where you can watch Nasreen's full speech.
Webinar: Lifelong and Intergenerational Impacts of Child Labor - June 17th, 2025
Following the June 12th World Day Against Child Labor, Empowerment Collective hosted a webinar in collaboration with ICMGLT. This webinar and the 2025 World Day took place against the backdrop of recent releases of both the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking report: No country is immune: working together to end modern slavery & human trafficking, and the joint International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF report on global estimates and trends of child labour – both aiming at preventing and eliminating this “hidden” pernicious worldwide crime.
International multidisciplinary, multidimensional panelists shared their own and others’ childhood slavery experiences, described their long-term and intergenerational impacts, analyzed root causes, and presented actionable solutions and steps toward ending this widespread violation of children's rights. They emphasized the critical role of survivor leadership and community involvement in designing effective, systemic interventions and frameworks to eradicate child labor.
Panelists included Empowerment Collective's founder, Nasreen Sheikh, as well as Amar Lal, a child labor survivor who is now a practicing lawyer at the Delhi High Court focusing on child labor and sexual abuse cases, Hawa Nanjobe Kimbugwe, a Ugandan visionary creative artist, social impact leader and advocate championing healing, women’s empowerment, and youth protection, and Silke Albert, a qualified lawyer currently acting as Team Leader, Child Trafficking, Survivor Engagement and Partnerships Team at the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section of UNODC.
Comments