This past Friday, on behalf of SA, I delivered a tailored version of the [Fashion High] workshop to a dedicated group of young Canadian activists – 60 Grade 8 students taking part in a 24-hour fast to raise awareness and funds for childhood rights through Free the Children.

Seeing as how the group had already not eaten for nearly 12 hours by the time our workshop began, we thought we’d spare them the Power Point presentation and replace it with two new activities—the first encouraged students to draw connections between key players, and the second allowed students the opportunity to communicate and share their feelings of hope and frustration.

We’d like to thank these activists for their dedication and congratulate them on their great work in raising nearly $5,000 for a cause they wholeheartedly stand behind.

I can say, with confidence, that the young activists I met on Friday will not tolerate being a part of any system based on human exploitation. And this we can look forward to…

Note: the activities mentioned above will be included in the upcoming GE module.

Mary F Hanlon

Mary has a PhD in Sociology from University of Edinburgh, researching responsible fashion and transnational labour rights activism in the wake of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh.