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Slavery is still a problem, despite officially being abolished 200 years ago by Hull-born William Wilberforce, says Kim Ryley Two centuries ago, Hull-born William Wilberforce led a campaign that would see the eradication of the slave trade throughout the British Empire. The city of Hull has always taken pride in its links with this tireless humanitarian campaigner, and it was logical to take the work of Wilberforce as an inspiration and occupy a high-profile stance in contemporary efforts to abolish modern day slavery. Two centuries on from Wilberforce's original success, Hull City Council launched a second campaign, Wilberforce 2007. The campaign was a resounding success, with 34 weeks of events and activities focusing on slavery and emancipation, generating more than £1.9m worth of media coverage. Throughout 2007, Hull was at the centre of what became a worldwide commemoration. Throughout this period, the council saw a transformation in the way it was able to promote its core values on the social and ethical issues relating to this important cause while, at the same time, building on its reputation as a caring, understanding and strong community leader. Wilberforce 2007 was also an opportunity to promote these key messages, together with Hull and its residents to a regional, national and international audience. The authority has taken a firm stance on its corporate responsibility to tackle issues such as slavery head on, and also a moral obligation to lead by example, and live up to the work of its ancestors. The main focus of the campaign was to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the ‘Abolition of the slave trade' Act in 1807, and raise awareness of the contemporary slave trade. Although many people are unaware of modern-day slavery, and think of the trade as part of history, it continues to be a massive problem. Indeed, there are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in 400 years of trans-Atlantic slave trade. Not only does this trade continue, but, shockingly, a human life can be bought for the equivalent of £60. Despite the fact that it is banned in most of the countries where it is practised, modern day slaves can be found labouring as servants or concubines in the Sudan, as child ‘carpet slaves' in India, or as can cutters in Haiti and southern Pakistan. According to Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest human rights organisation, there are currently more than 20 million people in slavery. To combat this trade, and as one aspect of Wilberforce 2007, we launched a petition last year, urging governments and international bodies to work together to better understand the transatlantic slave trade, address its impact on countries and communities around the world, and work to end slavery for all time. So far, the petition has generated at least 30,000 signatures in Hull alone and, in conjunction with Anti-Slavery International, around 52,000 signatures were collected from people throughout the world. The council has continued to drive the petition throughout 2007 and into 2008, and the aim now is to build on the success of the last year and on these impressive numbers to deliver a clear message that this trade is not acceptable. The petition is available to sign here. Kim Ryley is chief executive at Hull City Council

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WHITEHALL

The scourge of slavery continues

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