conference021013

Northeast Regional Conference:
Student Action Against Sweatshops and Child Labor

Hampshire College - Amherst, Massachusetts - Sunday, 13 October 2002

The conference educated students
about the injustices of sweatshops and child labor, and stimulated positive action to
reduce abuses worldwide. Youth from Vermont and the Northeast learned
about the global problem of oppressive child labor and to engaged in dialogue about potential youth responses.

Students made presentations about issues such as Child Labor in Agriculture
and in the Sex Trade, Fund-raising for Schools, and Sweatshops in Burma.

The highlight of the conference were three women from Bangladesh who had worked in sweatshops since they were twelve. They were touring the US with the National Labor Committee speaking to religious, labor and union organizations.

See a report about the Conference and pictures at the CAUSE web site.

Co-sponsored by CAUSE, SCALE, and Broad Meadows

Who   Keynote speakers Charles Kernaghan, Bangladeshi garment
factory workers, and other knowledgeable speakers on the subject of child
labor. Along with student workshops led by CAUSE, CLEA, Broad Meadows,
and SCALE.

What    Youth from the Northeast region learned about the global problem of                       oppressive child labor, and to engage in dialogue about potential youth                       responses.

Where   At Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts
                         Franklin Patterson Hall

When Sunday, 13 October 2002.

Why  To educate students about the injustices of sweatshops and child labor, and
stimulate positive action to reduce abuses worldwide.

Conference Schedule
Sunday, 13 October 2002

10:00    Registration

10:30    Speakers - Franklin Patterson Hall
            · Welcome: CLEA/SCALE/CAUSE
            · Keynote: Bangladeshi Garment Factory Workers and Charles Kernaghan of the
              National Labor Committee

12:00    Lunch - $5.40 in Hampshire Cafeteria or bring your own

  1:00    Leadership and Youth Action - Franklin Patterson Hall
            · On Leadership - Ken Williams, Professor at School for International Training
            · Brief descriptions of youth action organizations and their work by
              CLEA / SCALE / CAUSE / Broad Meadows . . .

  1:30 & 2:15   Youth Training Sessions Youth Led Information and Action Sessions
                        2 sessions at classroom locations TBA
            · On understanding child labor, becoming active, learning about current youth
              education and action projects, and forming local action chapters in your school.
              Led by CLEA, SCALE, CAUSE, Broad Meadows, USAS.

  3:00   Issue Discussion Sessions - classroom locations TBA
            · On issues such as action campaigns, clean shopping, and school purchasing
              policies - led by regional youth teams

  4:00   Closing Ceremony - Franklin Patterson Hall

  4:30   Adjourn

Did you know?

250 million people worldwide toil under oppressive conditions of child and sweatshop labor - (UN).

Tens of thousands of workers in the Unites States are victims of child and sweatshop labor - (U.S. Department of Labor).

A majority of apparel imported to the United States is made under conditions of oppressive child and sweatshop labor.

There is a growing national movement to educate and organize citizens to improve
working conditions for children.

Because of citizen action, some corporations and universities are requiring labor codes
of conduct and independent monitoring of factories.

Federal legislation has outlawed importation of products made with bonded (slave)
labor.

Gains have been made but much remains to be done. This conference aims to educate students and to stimulate positive action to reduce abuse to children worldwide.

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