Following a Study Day session on Modern Day Slavery in April 2021, members of our club were keen to discover more about the situation locally – historically an agricultural area with large numbers of migrant workers involved in food production and who could be at risk of exploitation. A contact with the Wisbech and Fenland Museum led to the idea of an event in partnership with them as they house the Thomas Clarkson Collection. Clarkson was one of the main architects of the anti-slavery movement in the 18th century.
In partnership with Wisbech and Fenland Museum, we held an online event in September 2021. This unique event brought together organisations working to abolish modern slavery, community organisations and heritage professionals to raise awareness, share initiatives and, importantly, ask what we can do to make a difference. There were speakers from a community project assisting migrant workers, the multi-agency taskforce Operation Pheasant and the International Slavery Museum Liverpool.