Pacific Links Foundation Co-Founder Diep N. Vuong Awarded Prestigious Global Citizen Award at Henley and Partners Global Citizenship conference in Dubai. The Global Citizen Award® consists of a specially made commemorative medal, an award certificate signed by the President of the Award Committee, and a USD 30,000 monetary prize, which goes towards helping the organization and awardee continue their excellent work.
Human trafficking is a massive, USD 150 billion per year industry that affects over 40 million women, children, and men, subjecting them to forced labor and sexual exploitation. While it is very much a global issue, with almost every region in the world implicated, the chance of becoming enslaved in Asia Pacific is twice as high as in a developed country. Vietnam in particular is a major source country for various forms of trafficking.
Under Vuong’s leadership, Pacific Links Foundation has grown into one of the leading organizations in Southeast Asia working to prevent the trafficking of women and youths within and out of Vietnam.
Vuong’s commitment to this cause is born out of her own harrowing experience fleeing Vietnam with her brother and father as a young teenager. It took 17 years for her family to be reunited in the US. As a former refugee and stateless person who went on to graduate from Harvard University, Vuong has dedicated her life to helping those most affected by global inequality and its pernicious effects.
Vuong and her team tirelessly serve and protect communities in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, along the northern, central, and southern borders of the country, and in industrial zones, providing vocational and educational opportunities, safe housing, and healthcare services to at-risk youth and trafficking survivors.
“Human trafficking is the major issue of our time, representing the ugly side of globalization,” said Vuong. “It is all-pervasive and yet largely ignored. It means a great deal to us to have this acknowledgement from a global firm such as Henley & Partners, and we hope that this year’s award will help drive widespread awareness about the work that we are doing on the ground with our partners. The more we recognize the painful realities of our world, the more effective we can be in addressing and correcting them. Human trafficking has become a global epidemic, yet the people who abhor it and want it to end far outnumber those perpetuating it. Let us find each other and work together to turn the tide.”
We are exceptionally excited to announce that the winner of this year’s Global Citizen Award is Diep Vuong, Founder and President of the Pacific Links Foundation: https://t.co/YGtOAHkxha pic.twitter.com/GKJkNIkur5
— Henley & Partners (@HenleyPartners) November 6, 2018
The Foundation runs a comprehensive range of effective counter-trafficking initiatives. Preventative measures include education for at-risk women, youth leadership and empowerment training, and the Factory Awareness to Counter Trafficking (FACT) campaign, which works with multinational corporations to reduce forced labor and trafficking risks within their supply chain. Protective measures focus on the reintegration, rehabilitation, and upskilling of trafficking survivors.
The Foundation collaborates with key local, national, regional, and international stakeholders, networks, and communities to promote awareness about this widespread issue.
About Pacific Links Foundation
Pacific Links Foundation (“Vòng Tay Thái Bình” in Vietnamese) is a 501(c)(3) US-based nonprofit organization with 15+ years of experience in empowering women and youth. Our mission is to support the sustainable development of Vietnamese communities and the enrichment of their cultural heritage.
Vuong and her team tirelessly serve and protect communities in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, along the northern, central, and southern borders of the country, and in industrial zones, providing vocational and educational opportunities, safe housing, and healthcare services to at-risk youth and trafficking survivors.
Founded in 2001, Pacific Links Foundation consists of people from diverse backgrounds and ages who share a common interest in improving the lives of people in need in the Pacific Rim regions. Pacific Links Foundation’s network of volunteers has brought years of professional expertise and deep commitment to our philanthropic work to serve Vietnamese communities in Vietnam and in the United States.
