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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: The Human Trafficking Project
Sector Focus - Civil society
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
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Project URL: http://www.traffickingproject.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Combine art, information and technology to raise awareness of modern day slavery and take action to stop it.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - Raising awareness- The Human Trafficking Project (HTP) utilizes art, innovation and technology to raise awareness of trafficking. Upcoming projects include a hip-hop album, a documentary and a photography project. The goal is to provide a multimedia body of work that will convey the facts, emotions and complexity of human trafficking and insert the issue into the mainstream consciousness. The HTP website will feature trafficking facts, downloadable songs, streamable video, photographs, links to relevant news stories, and original articles and insights. To listen to a song off of the hip-hop album go here:
http://traffickingproject.blogspot.com/2007/12/beat-down-human-trafficking.html Creating action- The HTP's online database of trafficking-related news articles from around the world will be an easily accessible resource for researchers and others interested in learning more about trafficking. Further, NGOs and other relevant organizations will be able to post jobs and volunteer opportunities on the HTP website. In this way the HTP seeks to bridge the critical gap between organizations that need help and the individuals who want to help but don't know where to look. Supporting survivors- The HTP will work with NGOs and other stakeholders to develop innovative programs to ensure that trafficking survivors receive the assistance they need to rebuild their lives and minimize future vulnerability to exploitation. Projects such as the upcoming hip-hop album and the documentary will be used to fund raise for survivors. Currently, the HTP is finalizing a program to send trafficking survivors to school in partnership with the Visayan Foru Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - The primary deliverables of the HTP are:
1) The website, www.traffickingproject.org, featuring music, video and photography that will also include an extensive, accessible and growing database of trafficking news articles worldwide as well as the functionality for NGOs around the world to post job and volunteer opportunities. 2) Art projects that include a documentary, a hip-hop album and a photography collection that touch on various issues within the theme of modern day slavery. These projects will be used to fund raise to support the HTP and its initiatives. 3) The Second Chance educational scholarship program covers the full expenses of an academic year to five trafficking survivors in the Philippines. This program is a partnership between the HTP and the Visayan Forum Foundation (www.visayanforum.org) How do you plan to grow your innovation? - The HTP will grow by the following initatives:
1) Organize networking, fund raising events that showcase the HTP art projects in conjunction with alldaybuffet (www.alldaybuffet.org), an organization that facilitates social networking for social action by organizing bi-monthly events around the country to encourage people to brainstorm, connect and act to create change. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - 1) I am currently collaborating with the Visayan Forum Foundation on the Second Chance educational scholarships for trafficking survivors program.
2) I am co-founder of alldaybuffet. 3) In the past I have worked with Unlad Kabayan, an NGO in the Philippines that won a Changemakers award in 2005, and plan on collaborating with them in the future to find innovative ways to involve trafficking survivors in Unlad's strategy of utilizing migrant savings to spur local development. 4) I also have contacts with the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific, Free the Slaves and Humantrafficking.org that I plan on contacting to promote the HTP art projects. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - The HTP will combine art, information and technology to raise awareness of modern day slavery, connect those wanting to get involved with those who need help and fund raise via its innovative art projects to support trafficking survivors.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - People served to date:
1) Web site visitors- over 23,000 unique visits and 43,000 page views from February 07 to June 08 at an average of 2:00 minutes per visit. The HTP currently receives over 4,000 unique visits a month. Site visitors include the global anti-trafficking NGO community, authors, students, activists, artists, journalists and the staff of intergovernmental organizations including the UN. 2) Trafficking survivors receiving Second Chance scholarship- 5 (this number depends on available funding and will expand in the future as resources permit).
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - This field has not been completed. (83 words or less)
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - 1) Trafficking survivors
2) NGOs 3) The public, researchers, journalists 4) Artists How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - The HTP is currently financed by Justin Hakuta, the founder; however, funding support from grants, donations, fund raising events and sales of merchandise (for now the documentary and hip-hop album) is being actively pursued.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization - Annual budget;
Annual revenue generated; Number of staff: Estimated annual budget (fiscal year starting in June '08): - Art projects, $4,000 *Total estimated annual budget: $9,055 The HTP has thus far raised $1,530 to reach the annual goal of the Second Chance scholarship. Revenue goals: *Total estimated annual revenue for fiscal year June '08 to June '09: $41,400 Number of volunteer staff- 3 The HTP mentality is to do more with less and utilizes partnerships and efficient operations to keep costs down while making an impact. What is the potential demand for your innovation? - There is a high demand for the services provided by the HTP as 1) the level of awareness of human trafficking is generally low across all levels of society (the general public, law enforcement, criminal justice systems, etc.), 2) there is a gap between those organizations or individuals who are acting to combat trafficking and those who want to help but don't know where to look and 3) there is a great need to support NGOs and collaborative stakeholder initiatives to provide increased services to trafficking survivors, such as providing educational or livelihood opportunities, upon reintegration to their home communities to minimize the chance of being re-trafficked.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - Financial sustainability depends largely on the strength of marketing, the success of grant applications and partnerships and the breadth of contacts within the HTP network who either are or can identify private donors.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004, Justin worked as the researcher of the Midtown Community Court in New York. While at Midtown, Hakuta interviewed and surveyed prostitutes, some of whom were suspected victims of trafficking, and was exposed to the lack of awareness of trafficking that pervaded the New York criminal justice system at that time.
With an interest in music, film, activism, entrepreneurship and travel, Hakuta then researched the NGO response to human trafficking in the Philippines in 2007 as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. Justin created the Human Trafficking Project after witnessing the need for increased public awareness of modern day slavery and additional resources to assist survivors of trafficking during rehabilitation and reintegration into their home communities. The HTP is a means of continuing the work Hakuta had started in the Philippines as a Fulbright scholar and combining his diverse interests to create an innovative way to help combat modern day slavery. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University in 2004 with a B.S. in Decision Science, Justin has constantly sought to combine his personal interest in social justice and his professional skills by working at organizations such as Honest Tea, where he focused on sales and marketing, and the Midtown Community Court, where he assisted in developing criminal justice policies for the New York State Court System. More recently, Hakuta researched the NGO response to human trafficking in the Philippines in 2007 as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. Hakuta will be attending Harvard Business School this fall to focus on entrepreneurship and creating innovative, sustainable solutions for social change.
Contact Information:
Justin Hakuta
Founder The Human Trafficking Project (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
Combine art, information and technology to raise awareness of modern day slavery and take action to stop it.
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i would like to apply to your universty to get an opportunity of scholarship .thanks for your cooperation
3) What are some of the impacts that your work is having?
The impact of my work includes increased awareness and interest in the issue of trafficking (almost 5,000 unique visits and 10,000 page views a month), 5 survivors of human trafficking enrolled in school via the Second Chance educational scholarship program in collaboration with the Visayan Forum in the Philippines, and a soon to launch new website, hip-hop album and documentary that will raise funds to support the Second Chance scholarship and pursue additional anti-trafficking initiatives.
4) Are you working to influence policy or government?
The HTP currently does not directly pursue initiatives to influence government or policy; however, by providing relevant trafficking information to researchers, NGO workers, government officials and the general public via the HTP website, the HTP works to both increase awareness and make the pertinent issues surrounding trafficking more salient to relevant stakeholders. A more direct approach to influencing policy, for example online letter writing campaigns to relevant government officials starting in the U.S. to address topics such as weak legislation or best practices, are being planned in the future.
Thank you for your questions Dana, please let me know if you have anything more to ask!
Justin
Hello Dana,
Thank you for your interest in my work!
Here are my answers:
1) You mentioned that the program is currently supporting 5 students. Is there any way that you can increase the number of students that you support?
*In regards to the Second Chance educational scholarships program, yes my goal is definitely to increase the number of students supported by the scholarship in the future. I would also look to expand the scholarship to different countries which would require partnering with additional organizations beyond Visayan Forum. The primary reason the number has been capped at 5 for the time being is a) a limited budget, b) wanting to ensure that any potential obstacles of the model are addressed before scaling up and c) wanting to ensure that scholars have access to funds that allow them to finish school and not just attend for a year.
2) Beyond increasing awareness of the issue, how is your work influencing efforts to end human trafficking?
*Beyond increasing awareness, the Human Trafficking Project combats modern day slavery by a) providing a searchable database of trafficking-related media articles that can be used to identify trends and issues in the field such as best practices, innovation, corruption, etc., b) providing an online resource that connects organizations around the world that need help to people around the world that want to help but don't know where to look, c) supporting survivors through the Second Chance educational scholarships program and acting to break the cycle of poverty and exploitation, d) supporting artists and giving exposure to creative, meaningful, trafficking-related projects that otherwise may not receive the exposure they deserve and e) in the future pursuing additional collaborative opportunities that address the need for employment and financial stability.
Hello Justin,
I'm really interested in the work that you are doing. The way in which you are making an important topic more easily accessible through art and multi-media is great. Congratulations on your Fullbright scholarship! I'm particularly interested in your partnership with the Visayan Forum in which you are helping trafficking survivors attend school. You mentioned that the program is currently supporting 5 students. Is there any way that you can increase the number of students that you support? Beyond increasing awareness of the issue, how is your work influencing efforts to end human trafficking? What are some of the impacts that your work is having? Are you working to influence policy or government?
Thank you for your response.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers