There is a lot of attention aimed at London this summer, the world city for the Olympics and Paralympics. Two organizations, Stop the Traffik and UN.GIFT, have taken this opportunity together to use the games as a platform for the launch of their latest project: GIFT box. A project which aims to inspire people into becoming aware and act against trafficking. Big walk-in present boxes are places all over London. They are placed in areas where athletes and visitors were expected to visit and are moved around every few days.
I visited one of them last week, at Piccadilly Market. I was met with a large turquoise, wrapped gift box with various messages on the outside, such as;
See the world and earn good money
The idea of the project is to trick people into the box with false pretence, just like the many trafficking victims are often tricked. Inside the box you quickly find out that not everything is as it seems.
During the Olympics and the upcoming Paralympics it has been possible to reach out to all the millions of people who have come to visit London. But the project is planned to continue even after the games. The boxes will be accessible all over London, England and in other countries for schools, companies and other groups who wish to host the box during a period or create their own projects around GIFT box. During the last few weeks, 300 volunteers have helped with the project and many more were committed to the project.
Emelie Lundberg for Realstars