THOUGHT-PROVOKING MAGIS TALK BY WRITER AND CAMPAIGNER, TATE JOHNSTON

Modern Slavery was the topic of this week’s Magis talk, attended by our Upper School boys (Y6 to 8).

The talk was led by St John’s Beaumont school dad, Tate Johnston, who is a writer and campaigner, passionate about educating society about the issues of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Mr Johnston first gave some thought-provoking facts about slavery, which many boys thought was a thing of the past. However, he gave examples of children in developing countries forced to work in terrible and dangerous conditions today, exploited for labour.

The boys were listening intensely, as many were unaware of the existence of the issue and the scale of it, even in the UK. 

Mr Johnston, who has written a book on the subject, called Everyday Abolitionist, talked to the boys about some simple steps everyone could take to raise awareness for the issue and become more mindful with buying choices.

Upon boys asking what they could do, Mr Johnston shared a few simple ideas;

– Ask questions
– Have conversations
– Make choices (for example ethical clothing & slavery-free chocolate)
– Influence others

After the talk, there was much discussion and many more questions, as the subject seems to have struck a real chord with many of the boys. Keep on thinking!

If you want to get involved, you can join Mr Johnston’s ‘Freecember’ initiative in December to raise awareness for the issue. See here for more details.