From July 1 to 7, our founder Dr. Sheetal Shah, president Angelique Koopmans and secretary Prof. Jean Paul van Marrissing attended the 7th Global Slavery Conference, Past Present and Future in Accra, Ghana. During the conference, attendees discussed their papers on slavery from different perspectives and disciplines.

Our chair Angelique represented TheBridge2Hope with research on the effectiveness of an integrated community-based intervention program for survivors. Jean Paul's introductory address on the first day of the conference referred to the increasing attention in the Netherlands to the effects of slavery on contemporary society. Attendees also had the honor of receiving the Dutch ambassador who spoke, among other things, about the apologies of the Dutch prime minister and king about the role of the Netherlands in the slave trade.

It was definitely a great experience full of learning and sharing knowledge in a country with so much history and past regarding slavery. The topics discussed are all still relevant to this day and important for us to consider when dealing with modern slavery and human trafficking."