Strategic and Forward Planning

On Monday, 24 April, 2023, APT members met at the Religious Sisters of Charity congregation house in Donnybrook, to review and reflect upon all the experiences and learning from our time together, as part of the process of strategic planning and moving forward in mission.

Facilitated by Lucy Franks, (https://lucyfranksconsulting.com), the members journeyed from APT’s beginnings in 2009 and the supports experienced which encouraged their work, through to collaborations and partnerships enabling advocacy, greater awareness and influencing policy and legislation.

Actions such as APT’s participation in the creation of the RENATE Europe NGO (Religious in Europe Networking against Trafficking and Exploiation); APT’s contribution to the TORL campaign; APT’s road-show bringing the UN GiftBox to venues nationally; APT’s presentation at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin (2018); APT’s national Conference at the Dept. of Justice, Stephen’s Green, Dubin (2019); securing a replica of the sculpture ‘Let the captives go free,” from Timothy Schmalz and its presentation to President Michael D. Higgins in 2021 through tp the work which led to the production of cAPTives, a Human-Trafficking awareness-raising programme for Post-Primary schools in Ireland were all instanced as valuable achievements and steps forward in APT’s overall mission to raise awareness about Human Trafficking.

It was agreed that the crime of Human Trafficking has evolved into a complex and multi-faceted industry, which calls for greater collaborations with organisations across the island of Ireland, in the belief that ‘together we are stronger” and therefore, have greater impact.

Yesterday was day one of a process, which once complete, will see a Strategic Plan devised and the installation of a new Steering Group, building upon the trojan work of the outgoing Steering Group under the unwavering and careful stewardship of Chairperson, Sr. Elizabeth Byrne, IBVM.