An estimated 14.2 million people are victims of forced labor in private economic activities, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). That's a lot of people, and those goods produced with forced labor make their way into the global economy through complex supply chains, while businesses too busy with other things either don't pay attention - or look away (at their increasing peril).
But awareness has been rising, and now an innovative competition has looked to technology for solutions to help identify and address a major obstacle in the quest for better corporate governance in any business - with less risk.
The Partnership For Freedom, a public-private partnership led by Humanity United and "dedicated to promoting innovative solutions to end modern day slavery in the United States and around the world" had what seems to me to be a very clever idea. It launched a competition - Rethink Supply Chains: The Tech Challenge To Fight Labor Trafficking, offering each finalist $20,000 and a grand prize of $250,000. (Twitter #RethinkSupplyChains).
Announcing the finalists last week, Catherine Chen, director of investments at Humanity United ( part of the Omidyar Group) said: "Forced labor in global supply chains is a systemic problem. The solutions surfaced by these finalists leverage technology to combat this problem by bringing transparency to global supply chains and elevating workers' voices across industries."
The finalists were selected by a panel of judges with expertise across corporate supply chains, human rights, philanthropy and investing - all areas covered here.
The five finalists are:
Laborlink Trafficking Module: Capturing & Mapping Millions of Data Points to Eliminate Forced Labor
Uses mobile technology to capture, analyze, and map unfiltered worker feedback to effectively address forced labor in a new way.
PULSE Deployable Labor Trafficking System - which blends self-reporting and internet data to identify labor exploitation in dynamic environments.
Identifying Human Rights Issues In the Fishing Industry Through Mobile Surveys. It generates and provides data on labor conditions in the Ghanaian fishing industry to companies.
Sustainability Incubator and Trace Register , involved in building trust in fishing at sea. It offers an new online registry for the voluntary reporting by industry of catches and on-board conditions for crews.
And last, but far from least: Ulula (which means 'reveal', apparently) offers Spartacus, "a global mobile platform for empowering migrant workers to end slavery." This is described as a platform to integrate information-sharing and remittance transfers to combat human trafficking and secure better jobs and higher incomes for migrant workers.
I am far from alone, I am sure, to be prone to getting excited about technology and its potential enabling of collaboration for social good. But this is such an excellent example, making tangible and real the power of such collaboration, that I am delighted to cover it here.
And - because I have broken the conventions of posting in the past and they have indulged me - it's time to thank Forbes for this platform for all the 'good guys' working hard for better business.
It is often the stuff mainstream media in the U.K., at least, will not touch until....it becomes mainstream. There's irony in there, somewhere. Keep the good stories coming - I will do my best to air them.
And stay tuned...the grand prize winner and a runner up picking up $50,000 will be announced in April.
