What is business for?
Corporate Social Responsibility:
Carole Parkes, Director Social Responsibility & Sustainability Aston Business School, reflects on the purposes of business in society.
Spirituality of Money; Do Markets work?
The Archbishop of Canterbury and other leading Christian Thinkers reflect on Faith and Economy at the St Pauls Institute
Human Trafficking:
Birmingham Methodist District Project, Adavu have launched a new Aftercare Support Project for adult survivors of modern slavery in the West Midlands. This project, funded by the Lloyds Foundation, enables Adavu to offer tailored long term support to adult survivors. We help them identify their practical, emotional, social and cultural needs and we continue to work with them to empower them to take the steps they need to build a new life free from exploitation.
Adavu are currently recruiting volunteer befrienders who will support survivors in settling into life in a new and unfamiliar community. Befrienders might accompany clients to appointments, help them gain confidence in using public transport or local shops, or be involved in social outings such as a trip to a local park or library.
We always appreciate donations of toiletries, nappies, and sanitary items. Please email for a list of suggestions; these packs are always gratefully received.
To find out more, email info@adavu.org.uk
What is Modern Slavery?
Modern Slavery takes many forms, including forced labour, debt bondage, domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. In the UK it often involves human trafficking; the movement of a person from one place to another for the purposes of exploitation. People still tend to think that all victims of slavery have been kidnapped or abducted, and then kept in chains or under lock and key. In reality, victims are usually coerced or deceived by someone offering them a good job, or by someone who pretends to be a caring boyfriend or family member. They are controlled by the invisible chains of threat, fear, and hopelessness.
It’s a hidden crime; the number of reported cases and recognised victims is widely recognised to represent the tip of the iceberg. Even when victims are identified and supported, the level physical and emotional trauma they have experienced as a result of their exploitation often has a significant long term impact. Has slavery been abolished?
For more information about modern slavery in the West Midlands and the UK:
www.westmidlandsantislavery.org
Migrant Workers:
‘Here to Stay’? is a report by Churches’ Industrial Group Birmingham and the WMIMA (West Midlands Industrial Mission Association) and examines the modern phenomenon of migration particularly in the West Midlands. It is available here in a downloadable pdf format.
Responding to the Recession:
Moving Beyond the Economic Downturn
Reshaping work – Jerry Blackett and Bishop David Urquhart, June 2011
Change and Renewal in the economy of Birmingham and Solihull
Ecology and the Economy:
Can Climate Change Save the West Midlands Economy Peter Braithwaite, Arup and Simon Slater, Sustainability WM