How can we practice
freedom?
Community-led Practices of
An exhibition by the Antislavery Knowledge Network showcasing work by our partners in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
Exploitation in all its forms threatens global development
affecting every society worldwide.
The UN SDGs include targets to stop forced labour, human trafficking, modern slavery and the worst forms of child labour including recruitment and use of child soldiers by 2030. But antislavery and development strategies have too often focused on criminal justice measures or targeting international mobility rather than engaging with communities and drawing on local insight and expertise, creativity, heritage and memory.
The Antislavery Knowledge Network (AKN) is a collaborative initiative bringing together African experts and community leaders – in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, DRC, Sierra Leone and Uganda – with UK researchers to deliver creative, culturally-attuned antislavery projects that recognize and address the enduring life of exploitation.
With this online exhibition, AKN offers selected findings from 14 innovative projects, showcasing how community-led practices of visualising, storytelling and remembering can transform understandings of what constitutes modern slavery and unlock more ethical and effective anti-slavery initiatives.
Visualising
The visibility of slavery – and the ways that it is visualised – determine the nature of our responses
Storytelling
Survivor narratives have always played a vital role in the fight against forms of enslavement – but how can we engage with survivors’ justly and share their stories ethically?
Remembering
Heritage is a vital resource for social change that can empower communities to take action against exploitation
Reflections
With a team of Guest Curators we have reflected on the ethics and efficacy of the creative approaches we have taken with our partners
Insights
In a series of video diaries and conversations our Guest Curator team answer key questions and delve into individual project processes and findings
Resources
Access a selection of case studies, which outline how the AKN team and our project partners have worked together to try and develop equitable and ethical working practices in response to the opportunities and challenges of partnership across borders, safeguarding in development and research in the context of Covid-19.
Partnership
AKN team members reflect on partnership-working between the global South and the global North.
Safeguarding
AKN partners and team members explore how best to enhance safeguarding in development.
Covid-19 Response
COMING SOON: AKN partners outline the challenges encountered in community-led research during the pandemic.
With thanks to
