The World Congress is a tri-annual, survivor-led, movement-building event that brings together the Survivor Alliance community to advance survivor leadership. There are parallel, but mostly separate, programs for survivors and allies, culminating in a shared and collaborative final day of the World Congress. Survivors and allies will share many meals together, and additional formal and informal opportunities to be together.

The World Congress is the only survivor-led and focused event of its kind, bringing together more than 100 a multi-national group of adult survivors of all types of human trafficking. It is also the only anti-trafficking sector event where survivors are the primary curators of the agenda for allies.

You can read the report of our 1st World Congress (2021) here.

The co-founders of Survivor Alliance were survivor leaders who had attended and participated in anti-trafficking conferences before survivor leadership was commonly talked about. The conferences were primarily designed for full-time employees of NGOs and government agencies, not really for those of us who were self-employed consultants or for survivors. Even if survivors were invited to events, the content of the program seemed unlikely to ever be focused on building survivor leadership capacity and/or integrating survivor leaders into the anti-trafficking sector. Another reason the World Congress started is because the founders saw a growing divide between survivors of sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and domestic citizen survivors and foreign national survivors.

We saw this as part of a typical part of systemic oppression - divide and conquer those who will become powerful if they build solidarity. Survivor Alliance, and through the World Congress, wanted to build a community where, not that we're all going to agree, but that we work towards being collaborative in our shared goals together. If you bring people together and build community, you start to humanize people and that's where you realize we have shared aims and goals and shared desires for liberation.

The World Congress will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from October 1st to October 4th, 2024. Participants will be arriving on September 30th to have a day to rest from the travel. The return flights will be on October 5, 2024.

Participants will be staying in the same place where the Congress will be held.

No. Survivor Alliance will cover your costs related to the travel and participation. This includes your conference rate, flight, ground transportation to and from the hotel in Kenya, accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner) during the days of the event, the Kenya Electronic Travel Authorisation (similar to a visa), and travel insurance.

The power of the collective serves as both the theme and inspiration for our World Congress. We see this gathering as an opportunity for all participants to experience and harness the power of the collective. We firmly believe in the transformative and healing power that arises when individuals come together to share ideas, dreams, and knowledge.

Although the World Congress will be delivered mostly in English, we will provide simultaneous interpretation in Portuguese, Bangla, Hindi, and Spanish for the World Congress activities.

We will build a “language solidarity” process, so members who speak different languages can also support each other for the “non-formal” moments of the Congress.

We encourage members who are not native in those languages but think they can communicate and understand to also apply.

To apply, you must be a member of Survivor Alliance, which requires having lived experience of slavery or human trafficking as defined by the United Nations’ standards below:

Slavery: “Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.”

Human Trafficking: “ ‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;”

You must be at least 18 years old, and have access to an email address.

Unfortunately, applications have closed!

We received more than 300 applications, and are we are working diligently to sort through the applications and make our selections promptly. The selection process will be done with the input of the World Congress Planning Committee. Information to selected and not selected members will be shared at the end of May, 2024.

We have a membership of over 900 members so we are unable to welcome everyone in person. For making this difficult selection process, we will be prioritising diversity of background, identities and lived experience representation.

For information about the selection process that will be shared in May - reach out to worldcongress@survivoralliance.org for more info.

Of course! We are happy to help. You can write to worldcongress@survivoralliance.org and we can support you in completing the application. We can explore different options, from submitting an audio application to coordinating for having peer support to complete the application with you. We are also open to exploring other ways that work best for you!

Unfortunately no. While we wish all the members who want to join us, we only have the capacity for 100 survivor leaders. We will make a selection after the application process is closed.

A total of 100 survivor leaders will attend the World Congress. Some survivor leaders will be directly invited as they are engaged in some of the processes that will be presented during the event, or because they are one of the 15 members of the Planning Committee.

This is such a difficult question! The selection process will be led by the Survivor Alliance Team and the World Congress Planning Committee.

Every one of our members “fits” perfectly our main criteria for the selection: being a survivor leader who wants to connect with others to learn, share, and engage with others in this meaningful opportunity. However, we still need to make a selection since our capacity doesn't allow us to invite everyone.

Our main criteria will focus on assembling a diverse group of leaders, that reflect the rich diversity of our community which includes participants from various countries, with different identities, and a diverse range of experiences in the anti-trafficking and anti-slavery sector.

After we close the call for applications on April 14, we will review and do the selection of all the applicants in collaboration with the World Congress Planning Committee. Applicants will be informed in May of their application status. We appreciate your patience while we navigate such a complex process!

We apologize in advance to those we are unable to select. Please know we wish you were there, and we hope you are interested in connecting and participating in our online activities.

As we mentioned, all Survivor Alliance members are the “perfect fit” for the World Congress participation. Unfortunately, we cannot include everyone. Our selection is based on creating the most diverse group possible from the applications we receive. We just cannot bring you all, and we will make the selection based on the most diverse group that we can create according to the different applications that we receive.

Not necessarily. You have the option to submit a proposal for an activity (please refer to either the World Congress Program section or the application form), but this is not a request for the participants. We do expect those coming to be open to engaging in the different conversations and activities, but we also know that we all have different ways of engaging and participating. We hope that the World Congress will be a space where everyone can engage in a manner that feels authentic to and right for them.

Yes, for the in-person event, we are only considering applications from our members. Non-members will be welcome to some of the online program activities.

Yes, you still need to apply. While we know you will be close and we want to have all of you in the event, it is important for us that we maintain a global representation of our members in the room. Those who are selected will be able to stay in the hotel with other international members if that is their preference.

We know international traveling is not always easy, and we will do our best to better support you in this experience. We are building our logistic process having this in mind and we will share with you all the information that you will need. We will develop info-sheets, logistics information sessions, and we will be available to have a 1:1 conversation if you feel you will need it. We will also plan to coordinate a travel-buddy system between survivors leaders traveling from the same location, so you can support each other.

We will buy the ticket for you. We will try as much as possible to make suggestions that work for everyone. We will send you a suggested itinerary for you to review and accept before confirming the flight. Before this, we will send you a form to complete so you can put your preferences, closer airport, etc. We will do our best to respond to your preference while balancing our budget limitations.

No, obtaining a passport will be your responsibility, including managing the application process with your local administration, gathering your personal documents, and covering any associated expenses. However, we are here to assist by providing letters regarding the World Congress and your invitation, should they be required.

Please note: It is compulsory that your passport is valid for the next six months after your travel date.

Kenya does not require a visa to enter the country, but all visitors including infants and children who intend to travel to the Republic of Kenya must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) before the start of their journey. Survivor Alliance assumes responsibility for completing your request and paying for the eTA fees. More information here.

We are booking rooms for all participants in the same hotel where the World Congress will be held. We will share more information about the hotel soon.

Most of the participants will be sharing a room with another survivor leader. After the selection process, you will be asked if you have a preference for sharing with a particular participant, and we will do our best to respond to your request. We will also have a small amount of single rooms for those who need special accommodations. More information about the process to request a single room will be shared with the selected participants.

Yes, you can! Please take into account that Survivor Alliance will not be responsible for coordinating or financing any cost related to it. You will need to share the information of your traveling days when completing the logistic form that will be sent to selected participants. If you decide to change the travel day, you will also be responsible for paying any additional cost.

Should you be a selected participant in the World Congress, we will reach out to you directly to arrange the necessary accommodations for travel and participation. While we have a limited budget, we’re committed to ensuring all participants can fully engage in the event.

We embrace and approach accessibility in many different ways to ensure as many people can fully engage in our event as possible. This means providing interpretation in multiple languages, offering diverse activities and ways to contribute, organizing the logistics to support those with less travel experience, having space to breathe in between sessions, organizing an online program for those who cannot travel, and selecting a hotel that has accessible accommodation for people with disabilities. We are also committed to listening to participants about what accessibility measures are important to them. While our budget and capacity are unfortunately limited, we will try our best to accommodate these needs.

Yes, we will have professional mental health professionals present during the days of the Conference.

No, all participants are adults and you can decide if you want to stay present in the sessions or not. We are organizing the event hoping attendees will be present in the different sessions of the event. Many survivors will want to come to Kenya and only 100 will be selected. So, we hope that those who are selected are taking advantage of the opportunity to learn and share what the Congress agenda will propose.

Yellow fever vaccination is recommended but not compulsory for traveling to Kenya for most countries. Only travelers arriving in Kenya from countries where yellow fever is endemic should present a valid yellow fever certificate. Survivor Alliance will provide some financial support for those participants who need the yellow fever vaccination.

Check the column “Country determined by WHO to be at risk for yellow fever transmission” in this link to learn about your country.

Yes, you can, but please know that we are not able to provide any child care service during the Congress. You will also be responsible for the cost of your child and/or partner (such as: flights, Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), etc.) For the Hotel, kids under 5 years old do not need to pay any complementary cost for accommodation and food. If you are selected for the World Congress, it will be important for you to share this information when you are asked to complete a form to help us with your travel arrangements.

Yes, you can but you will need to cover any additional accommodation and meal costs. You will also be responsible for buying the flight ticket, the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), and other travel-related expenses. If you are selected for the World Congress, it will be important for you to share this information when you are asked to complete a complementary form for your travel arrangements.

Ensuring the safety and security of all attendees is our top priority. We will be collaborating with local stakeholders and the Planning Committee to develop a comprehensive safety and security plan. Nairobi, the vibrant capital city of Kenya, offers a rich cultural experience, and like any major city, it's important to take precautions. We will share more information and recommendations with the select participants soon.

We are still working on the program, and we will be able to share it as soon as it’s available. There will be a diverse mix of activities, from plenary, and keynote speakers to participatory workshops, capacity-building training and engaging conversations, and time to dance and enjoy together.

You will find a range of activities around survivor leadership and engagement, movement building, mental health, and healing, advocacy, employment pathways for survivor leaders, and many more topics to build capacities and our collective power to co-create a global and intersectional survivor-led movement.

The final program will be shared in June 2024.

Yes, we would like to hear from you! In the application, you’ll find a section where you can propose your session idea. You can suggest a variety of activities or topics that you would be interested in presenting. Activities can be directed only for survivor leaders, for survivors and allies, or only for allies. Please know that due to time limitations, we will not guarantee every proposed activity will be included.

Yes! We will create an online program, where you will be able to listen to the plenary sessions, and you will also be able to participate in engaging workshops online. We will open a complementary registration process for these online activities later in the year.

When Survivor Alliance started, we recognized that most anti-trafficking organizations are run and staffed by people without lived experience, and part of enabling survivor leadership is going to be having those allies shift practices and being in solidarity. Therefore, including allies is an important part of the World Congress. Also, Survivor Alliance has a unique position in having relationships with anti-trafficking organizations and we can utilize our positional power to build bridges between survivor leaders and allies.

Committed allies have also been important to our work at Survivor Alliance from the very beginning, and we believe allies are important for our work moving forward. Allies are key people in helping to change the systems that have historically excluded survivors. Survivor Alliance believes that one of the reasons survivors have been excluded in the past is by the lack of opportunities for allies to engage with diverse survivor leaders from around the world. The World Congress creates this opportunity for building relationships and ensuring survivor leader recommendations and expertise are heard.

There are also many allies who have been in the sector for a long time and have a lot of expertise to share with us as well. We do not think the work is about either survivors or allies. It is about us collaborating together. There is plenty of work to be done in the sector and we need all of us to be involved.

It is also important for us to recognize that some survivor leaders are not comfortable being “out” as a survivor and identify as allies in the sector.

Employees of non-profit and charity organizations, funding organizations, private philanthropists, businesses with anti-trafficking programs, researchers, organizations that support survivor leader groups.

There will not be law enforcement or immigration officials. Some allies may have previously worked for those organizations or have connections to them but are not currently at those organizations. There may be some government officials, specifically from the Government of Kenya and the UK.

No. While we anticipate changes to our program, we are planning on 1.5 days of survivor-only programming and two days of mixed programming. Some of you may desire to step away from the survivor convening to present to allies. There is an opportunity in the application form to indicate if you would want to give a presentation to allies. There's also a shared reception on the night of October 1st and shared meals throughout the event.

Yes. Survivor-only spaces are important, and yet this program will include allies. Even in the survivor-only convening, there will be some Survivor Alliance Staff and/or Board Members who do not have lived experience of human trafficking.

Part of our hopes for the World Congress is that we all rehumanize each other. Allies may be survivors who have not publicly identified or survivors of other traumas. We are all human and we need to practice developing trust with people, whether they are a fellow survivor leader or an ally.

Yes. Some allies have received training prior to the World Congress, as they have participated in our programs. Others will have the opportunity to get this learning and education about the fundamentals of survivor empowerment on their first day of the conference. Survivor Alliance is also considering hosting pre-conference events for allies to ensure they can feel prepared to engage in empathetic and empowering ways.