Event to Feature Screening of “Not My Life,” Panel Discussions

AUSTIN — The World Affairs Council of Austin (WACA) announced Friday it has been awarded a national reimbursement grant by the Carlson & The Carlson Family foundation, facilitated by the World Affairs Councils of America, to host an event highlighting the global problem of human trafficking. The centerpiece of the event will be a screening of the documentary, “Not My Life” by director Robert Bilheimer.

“Human trafficking is too often a forgotten tragedy,” says Jonathan Black, a member of the WACA advisory board who is coordinating the grant and event, “With ‘Not My Life’ Bilheimer creates a damning exposé of human trafficking in its many forms and reminds us that this crime happens around the world and in our own communities.”

Along with the film screening, the WACA event will feature panel discussions on human trafficking in both a global and local context.

Austin, like any city of size, experiences problems with human trafficking, catalyzed by Austin’s roll as a transport point for people smuggling across the U.S./Mexico border. In 2012, local awareness of the problem of human trafficking reached a new level when law enforcement agencies became concerned that Formula One racing at the Circuit of the Americans could lead to a spike in human trafficking here.

[http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/increased-enforcement-against-human-trafficking-pl/nS6d8/]

WACA hopes its event will build upon that new awareness and encourage Austin residents to learn more about human trafficking and what they can do combat the problem both at home and around the world.

“This event will be the first of many events highlighting key global challenges in ways that include a local angle,” says Mortada Mohamed, President and CEO of WACA, “Part of the Mission of the World Affairs Council of Austin is educating and engaging residents of Austin and Texas on global issues.”

The WACA anti-human trafficking event is tentatively scheduled for May. The Council is currently reaching out to potential partner organizations also concerned with human trafficking as well as donors and supporters that will help WACA supplement the funds available through the Carlson & The Carlson Family Foundation reimbursement grant.

For more information about WACA, visit www.wacaustin.org

For more information about the documentary “Not My Life,” visit http://notmylife.org