UNL hosts the fourth annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking Oct. 11-13. Known as the pre-eminent academic conference on the subject, the gathering will feature events open to the public along with dozens of interactive presentations for registered conference participants.

The goal is to build public awareness about human trafficking while providing a forum for the presentation and discussion of research and professional work and giving those closest to the issue an opportunity to network and learn from each other.

Human trafficking, organizers say, is a global problem and one that plays out right here in Nebraska. It continues to be described as the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Some estimates count as many as 27 million people currently enslaved worldwide.

This year’s keynote speaker is Kristiina Kangaspunta, deputy director of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. She will join Nebraska assistant attorney general John Freudenberg — a member of the Nebraska State Task Force on Human Trafficking — and Nebraska state Sen. Amanda McGill in a panel discussion Oct. 11 at the University of Nebraska College of Law. A bill introduced by McGill was signed into law earlier this year which, among other provisions, created a task force that will study human trafficking. The public also is invited to this free event, which begins at noon in the Hamann Auditorium. The panel will focus on the pervasiveness of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and forced labor around the world and in Nebraska.

Featured guest James Kofi Annan, who was sold into slavery at age 6 and forced to work in Ghana’s fishing villages 17 hours a day, will share his story during a free public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 in the Nebraska Union. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Harris Center for Judaic Studies.