One World Centre Isle of Man

We have today launched a new poster campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery and exploitation in the Isle of Man.

It is the latest development in the One World Centre’s ongoing project around modern slavery which began when the charity invited modern slavery consultant Robin Brierley to give a talk to the general public and Members of Tynwald in 2022.

The posters highlight the telltale signs of exploitation and encourage anyone affected or concerned about others to seek help by calling the Isle of Man Safeguarding telephone numbers provided (686179 for children’s services and 685969 for adult services) or to use the anonymous Isle of Man Crimestoppers hotline (0800 555 111).

Launching the campaign One World Centre Coordinator Wendy Shimmin said,“The term modern slavery is not very well understood. It encompasses many different types of exploitation including “county lines” where young people are recruited into ferrying drugs or the proceeds of crime, sexual exploitation, people trafficking and domestic servitude.

“Although we all think of the Isle of Man as a small and safe place to live, we know there is a risk of exploitation taking place in any community. Our campaign aims to raise awareness and signpost any vulnerable people – or those concerned about others – to sources of help.

“We can all be vigilant to the signs and we hope that local businesses and organisations will support us by displaying our posters in public areas so they get the maximum visibility.”

For more information and to get copies of the posters please contact us or call 310191.

Come and join us for a free screening of Perfect Days, an award-winning and Oscar-nominated film from Wim Wenders about the life of Hirayama, a caretaker of Tokyo’s public toilets who balances his job with his passion for music, literature, and photography. His structured routine is slowly interrupted by unexpected encounters that force him to reconnect with his past.

The screening takes place at 7pm on Thursday 26th September downstairs at Henry Bloom Noble Douglas Library. It’s free to attend and no booking is required. The film is in Japanese with English subtitles and is rated PG.

This is a screening in our Mighty Movies series, a community cinema initiative in collaboration with Henry Bloom Noble Douglas Library featuring films with a global perspective.

The One World Centre and Café Lingo are looking for a dynamic, outgoing and self-motivated person to lead the Welcome Project, an initiative to help newcomers to the Isle of Man to settle, integrate and understand Manx culture and customs through social meeting opportunities.

This is a part-time role averaging 12-15 hours a week over 12 months.

For more details please see the job description here. Closing date is 5pm Thursday 5th September.

The Welcome Project is kindly funded by the Manx Lottery Trust.

Mighty Movies is a new initiative showcasing films from other countries or that have a global perspective.

Our first film will be Winners, which we are screening in collaboration with Henry Bloom Library in Douglas. This is a movie from Iran,  set in a small provincial town, where the children work hard to support their families. One day nine-year-old Yahya and his friend Leyla find a precious statue. Sharing a passion for cinema, Yahya’s boss Naser Khan decides to help them find the owner.

The film is in Persian but has English subtitles and is rated PG. The screening takes place at 7pm on Thursday 20th June, downstairs in the library. No booking required.

This will be the first of a series of films – if you have a favourite you would like to nominate, please let us know.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our annual SDG Art Competition which this year focuses on SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities.

Recognising that the world is not an equal place, the competition is aimed at young people up to age 18 and asks them create a poster on the theme of Making the World a Fairer Place. There are three classes of entry – Up to Year 6, Year 7 to Year 9, and Year 10 to Year 13.

There are creative vouchers to the value of £35 for the winners in each class and also six runners up prizes of £10 vouchers. The closing date is 19th July 2024.

For useful information, the entry form and a copy of the flyer, see our page here

With World Fairtrade Day being marked last Saturday, we finally found time to announce that the Isle of Man has had its Fairtrade status renewed until July 2026 by the Fairtrade Foundation.

We are also pleased to announce that the Island’s Fairtrade Group has also been awarded all five of the new community badges that have been made available. These include badges for campaigning, change-making and being Fairtrade ambassadors.

The Fairtrade Foundation has introduced these to acknowledge that “every action taken on a local level adds to raising awareness of the issues of unfair trade and furthers the progress of workers’ rights, safer working conditions and fairer pay for farmers and workers globally”.

Although small in numbers, the Isle of Man Fairtrade Group works hard with local stockists to promote Fairtrade and carries out awareness raising activities with schools, churches, workplaces and the general public.

Pictured are some of the Isle of Man Fairtrade Group with the new certificate and also some of the children from St Mary’s Primary School Eco-Club who regularly hold a Fairtrade tuck shop.