(ANS - Rome) - Tomorrow, Tuesday 13 October, at the Salesian House of the Sacred Heart in Rome, there will be a press conference to present the campaign STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

The campaign is an initiative promoted jointly by two Salesian groups: the NGO VIS (International Voluntary Service for Development) and the Association Missioni Don Bosco in Turin.

The main purpose of the Campaign is to intervene in the communities of origin of migrants where the Salesians are present. The first phase involves especially Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Ghana.

The project focuses on three main actions:

• Analysis and research on the real reasons for migration;
• An awareness campaign informing potential migrants about the risks of the journey and the real chances of success of their migration;
• Individual guidance on the spot for those who for those who want to leave. For example from the study that was carried out in Senegal it emerges that 40% of the young people who migrate do so for reasons of study. Therefore it is the intention of the campaign is provide funding for scholarships for young people through the Senegalese Salesian communities.

In addition to these three main actions the goal is to raise money to fund activities in the countries of origin by promoting self-development in collaboration with the Salesians in Africa.

Among the speakers at the event there will be:

• Prof. Giovanni Maria Flick (former President of the Constitutional Court)
• Gian Antonio Stella, a writer and journalist of the Corriere della Sera,
• Nico Lotta, President of VIS,
• Bro. Giampietro Pettenon, SDB, President of Missioni Don Bosco.

Further information is available at www.stoptratta.org

On Wednesday 14 October, at Palazzo Lascaris in Turin, there will be a conference entitled: "The trafficking of migrants: the Salesian response to the emergency." Nico Lotta and Bro. Giampietro Pettenon will again be present, as well as Sergio Durando of the Social Pastoral Care of Migrants of the Archdiocese of Turin and various Salesian missionaries. Doctor Daniela Ruffino, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Piedmont, will open the conference.

Published 12/10/2015