This year, Our Rescue had the opportunity to help bring a survivor-centered conversation on human trafficking to one of the world’s most influential gatherings of emerging leaders: the One Young World 2025 Summit. More than 2,000 young changemakers from over 190 countries came together in Munich, Germany to exchange ideas and solutions to today’s most urgent global challenges and crises.
Our Survivor Care Coordinator for Europe, Tyra Nicole, secured a highly competitive workshop slot and invited lived-experience expert Rejoice Osadiaye, from Acción Contra la Trata, to co-facilitate the workshop, bringing survivor leadership to the center of the conversation.
The session, “Peace After Human Trafficking,” helped participants understand the realities of how trafficking happens, what survivors face during exploitation and long after exit, and what meaningful support looks like in the long term. Rejoice’s story offered a clear, human lens on the stages of trafficking, from vulnerability and exploitation to exit and healing.
Attendees were then challenged to design actionable frameworks identifying the types of support survivors need, which sparked thoughtful conversations about how they could contribute to prevention, advocacy, and reintegration efforts within their own communities and workplaces. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing a strong commitment to strengthening anti-trafficking efforts around the world.
Because of the depth and relevance of the topic, the session was selected to run twice during the summit, underscoring how important trauma-informed, survivor-led conversations are in global spaces.
The summit also featured an extraordinary lineup of One Young World Counselors, including Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Terry Crews and Rebecca King-Crews, Nobel laureates Maria Ressa and Professor Muhammad Yunus, David Beasley, and other leaders whose shared messages of compassion and leadership set a meaningful tone for the week.
Being present at the One Young World Summit allowed Our Rescue to help elevate survivor leadership, strengthen global collaboration, and advance trauma-informed approaches to combating human trafficking. This event was a meaningful milestone—one that deepens our hope and determination to contribute to long-term change for survivors everywhere.
