Top Officials from World Relief and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Speak at Annual Ensure Justice Conference
Costa Mesa, CA (PRWEB) February 26, 2014 -- Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice will launch its annual Ensure Justice Conference on March 7-8, 2014, covering topics on global child trafficking prevention and intervention. Keynote speakers include president and CEO of World Relief, Stephan Bauman, and Senior Advisor, David L. Myers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Other featured speakers include JoAnn Butrin, director of International Ministries for the Assemblies of God and Shyima Hall, a survivor advocate who recently made headlines because of her story of being sold into child slavery by her parents in Egypt at age 8.
The annual Ensure Justice Conference is designed to educate students, law enforcement professionals, educators, parents, social workers, healthcare professionals, and other community members about topics ranging from human trafficking and cyber-exploitation to domestic violence and gender inequality. This year’s Ensure Justice Conference will focus on the theme “Why is She a Slave?” – addressing child slavery on local, national, and international levels.
The United Nations estimates that 1.2 million children are victims of human trafficking each year. In 2012, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that the percentage of child slavery victims had risen in a 3-year span from 20 percent to 27 percent; of every three child victims, two are girls and one is a boy. Sex trafficking gangs have been making headlines recently in Orange County.
“We are experiencing a radical redefining of justice today,” says Stephan Bauman, president and CEO of World Relief. “Justice is being reclaimed, stolen back from social and political camps, and rediscovered. Faith-based organizations like the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University help us to recover its biblical meaning as we encounter a God who loves justice, demands justice, and executes it for the needy.”
David L. Myers, director of the department of Homeland Security’s Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships will be a featured speaker at the conference this year. Appointed by President Obama in 2009, Myers heads one of 13 such centers in the federal government under the White House Office of Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships. In this role, Myers has personally led Center efforts at major disasters, working closely with senior governmental, state, local, faith-based and voluntary groups.
In September, the Global Center for Women and Justice celebrated its 10th year at Vanguard University. Over $75,000 was raised during the weekend’s 10th anniversary events to support initiatives advancing the status of women and children globally.
For information about the Ensure Justice Conference, visit http://www.ensurejustice.com
To request an interview, contact:
Erin Hales, Director of Marketing & Communications
55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.966.5452
erin.hales(at)vanguard(dot)edu
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ABOUT VANGUARD UNIVERSITY
Vanguard University (VU) is a regionally ranked, private, Christian university of liberal arts and professional studies. Located ten minutes from Newport Beach and an hour from Los Angeles, Vanguard equips students for a Spirit-empowered life of Christ-focused leadership and service. Vanguard is committed to academic excellence, boasting small class sizes that are designed to cultivate lasting professor-mentor relationships that enhance the learning process. The U.S. News & World Report ranked Vanguard a top 10 regional college in the west for 2014 and The Princeton Review ranked Vanguard a 2014 "Best in the West" regional college. Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), Vanguard offers more than 30 degrees and certificates through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs. Please visit http://www.vanguard.edu
ABOUT THE GLOBAL CENTER FOR WOMEN AND JUSTICE
The Global Center for Women & Justice at Vanguard University is a faith-based organization that exists to advance the global status of women through research, education, advocacy, collaboration and hope. The Global Center for Women & Justice promotes gender reconciliation and the inherent dignity of all persons. For more, visit http://gcwj.vanguard.edu
Erin Hales, Vanguard University, http://www.vanguard.edu/, +1 714.966.5452, [email protected]
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