![\"\"](\"http:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/trafficking-conference-2019-poster.jpg\")
<\/a>This year marks the largest event since the conference began at UToledo in 2004 and for the first time features an art exhibit in collaboration with the UToledo Department of Art to raise critical consciousness for social justice.<\/p>\n\u201cWe are proud so many people want to learn about human trafficking,\u201d said Dr. Celia Williamson, Distinguished University Professor and director of the UToledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute. \u201cOur conference brings sex and labor trafficking out of the shadows and helps end abuse. More than ever before, we have the opportunity to educate, collaborate and save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conference, which \u2014 to date \u2014 has welcomed presenters from 42 states and 30 countries, is Thursday and Friday, Sept. 19 and 20, in the Thompson Student Union on Main Campus.<\/p>\n
UToledo\u2019s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition host the conference.<\/p>\n
Williamson recently published a new book titled \u201cA Seat at the Table: The Courage to Care About Trafficking Victims,\u201d which tells her life story and transition from at-risk for trafficking to a world-renown social worker and researcher, working directly with victims and revolutionizing global anti-trafficking efforts. <\/p>\n
At this year\u2019s conference, Williamson will unveil her new, free human trafficking risk assessment tool (HTRISK) that she developed with support from the Ohio Children\u2019s Trust Fund, as well as release the findings from her study of 400 Ohio youth. That presentation will be Friday, Sept. 20, at 9 a.m. in the Thompson Student Union Ingman Room. Watch the livestream on the UToledo Alumni Association website<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWith limited time, money and resources, advocates need to know which youth are at the highest risk for sex trafficking and then do their best to prevent it,\u201d Williamson said. <\/p>\n On Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 9 to 10 a.m., 475 high school students from the area will gather in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium for Human Trafficking 101, where they also will learn about dating violence and participate in a poetry slam.<\/p>\n For a full schedule of presentations, visit the conference website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an opportunity to bring to life the people impacted by human trafficking and to provide a path for the community to join the fight,\u201d Barbara Miner, professor and chair of the UToledo Department of Art, said. <\/p>\n The tall black-and-white photography installation called \u201cThe Pillars\u201d features people on the front lines in the war against trafficking.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are warriors holding up the ceiling of hope,\u201d Miner said. \u201cUsing an arresting, striking style, we\u2019re showcasing people like Celia Williamson as well as medical and law enforcement professionals among others who work under the radar and often go unnoticed, but who are working tirelessly to protect people suffering through contemporary slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n Artwork created by current and former art students in response to trafficking stories and the global issue also will be on display.<\/p>\n The free, public exhibit can be see from Thursday, Sept. 19, through Friday, Dec. 6, at the UToledo Center for the Visual Arts on the University\u2019s Toledo Museum of Art Campus. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/faces-of-trafficking-web.jpg\")
<\/a>New this year, the UToledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and the College of Arts and Letters partnered together for an art exhibit titled \u201cFaces of Trafficking,\u201d<\/a> which features people from the greater Toledo community who are leading the fight to end trafficking. <\/p>\n