Not For Sale Australia is here!  With Sydney as the vibrant backdrop, Not For Sale’s second international initiative is underway.  As a kick off event, Not For Sale’s Backyard Abolitionist Academy is being held in Sydney on June 30-July 2.

Among advocates of social justice, the abolitionist movement has a strong following in Australia, however modern-day slavery is not part of the Australian social consciousness to the extent that it is in many other developed countries.  Public awareness campaigns can only deal with part of the problem; the main issue is a gap in research.  Carol Hirt, the Country Director of Not For Sale Australia, has said that, “Most Australians do not understand the scope and extent to which slavery exists in our backyard because the data does not exist to highlight the fact, that it is indeed, embedded within the Australian socio-economic experience.”

Carol Hirt, who is Southern Californian born, has lived in Sydney for the last 30 years.  Carol has been involved with social justice movements for most of her life, beginning that journey in a street theatre troop in Berkeley in the 70s, using the mediums of mime and dance to protest the nuclear arms race.

Carol’s describes her involvement with Not For Sale and her engagement with the movement, “My whole family attended the Global Forum on Human Trafficking last year and then took part in a two-week Abolitionist Academy in San Francisco.  It was a challenging and life changing exposure to the complexity of Human Trafficking.  The whole approach of Not For Sale in combating modern-day slavery is smart, creative and sophisticated.  With Not For Sale, I am excited about how we can contribute to the movement to end modern slavery in Australia.”

The tenants of Not For Sale are to equip and engage individuals to become “smart-activists”.  Towards that end, Not For Sale is bringing two of its most powerful, effective and successful platforms to Australia – the Backyard Abolitionist Academy and Free2Work.

As stated above, the first Backyard Academy will be held in Sydney on June 30-July 2^nd and will offer four courses, ranging from Strategic Mapping to Just Market Supply Chains.  The exuberant Australian Country Director writes, “I am really looking forward to the training and expertise from the NFS staff coming over from San Francisco for the Backyard Academies”.  Carol, in describing the Free2Work platform, said, “I love the Free2Work philosophy that encourages us as consumers to become aware and mindful of what we buy and to understand how those products are made, it gives us the ability to support companies that have people who are ‘free to work’ in their supply chain.”

Not For Sale wholeheartedly believes that we can end human trafficking in our lifetime.  For this to become a reality we must have an equipped, engaged, smart and mobilized global abolitionist movement.  Not For Sale hopes to strengthen and support the growing Australian involvement in this movement.

Follow Not For Sale Australia on Twitter: @NotForSaleAUS

For more information on how you can get involved in Australia, email: AUSTRALIA (at) NOTFORSALECAMPAIGN dot ORG

Visit: NFSACADEMY.ORG – FREE2WORK.ORG