CNN Freedom Project Highlights Human Trafficking In Vietnam
CNN International today kicks off a series of special reports from Vietnam as part of the CNN Freedom Project.
CNN International anchor Natalie Allen reports on a woman's efforts to save a small community threatened by the evils of child traffickers. The revealing reports will air Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on News Stream and Connect The World at 1300 GMT and 2100 GMT respectively.
CNN's press release is below.
CNN Press Release:The CNN Freedom Project Shines The Spotlight On Human Trafficking In Vietnam.
A series of special reports on ‘News Stream' reveals a poor community threatened by child traffickers, and highlights one woman's mission to save "one girl at a time"
CNN's Natalie Allen went to Vietnam on a trip to build a playground for poor children in the Mekong Delta. What she found, and shot with her own camera, was a community so poor and so vulnerable that it had become easy prey to child traffickers.
Airing for the first time on News Stream (1300 GMT) on Monday February 13, ‘The Children of the Dump' is heartbreaking to watch - but it is not without hope. We'll introduce you to one woman on a mission to save this community, as she puts it, "one girl at a time."
Part One:
CNN's Natalie Allen takes us to Rach Gia in southwest Vietnam where she meets a poor community of Cambodian refugees. They fled the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and have been living on the city dump for three generations. They eat what they find in the trash and sleep in shelters they make from the trash. The poverty and filth are crushing. But a bigger threat is child trafficking. Strangers show up at the dump, offer money and promise good jobs for the children... and then disappear. In this CNN Freedom Project report, we'll look at the dangers they face and the one thread of hope that has come their way.
Part Two:
The children of the dump are threatened every day by child traffickers. CNN's Natalie Allen introduces us to a determined volunteer who is fighting to save them, and she is using a surprising weapon - school. In this CNN Freedom Project report, we learn how one woman is arming a community with books and pencils to fight a war against child trafficking. She's using literacy to drive the traffickers away.
Part Three:
CNN's Natalie Allen went to Vietnam to build a playground. The children of the dump had never seen one before, a point that is clearly evident on their faces as the playground is unveiled. Thanks to volunteers from around the world, these children can now see beyond the dump and are starting to dream of a future in a better place, away from the threat of human trafficking.
About The CNN Freedom Project:
The CNN Freedom Project was launched in March 2011 and aims to shine a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of the victims, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life.
CNNI's News Stream Looks At Technology's Role In Ending Modern-Day Slavery
CNN International's News Stream this week throws the spotlight on the role of technology in ending modern-day slavery, part of the network's CNN Freedom Project.
CNN Press Release: Did you know that there are at least 10 million men, women and children worldwide being sold and forced to work as slaves? CNN is marshalling its global resources for a year-long initiative that shines a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of the victims and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life.
In a week of special coverage starting April 11th for 'The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery', CNN's technology-powered news program 'News Stream' investigates the role of technology in ending this cruel and inhumane treatment of human beings featuring in-depth reports, interviews and analysis.
Host Kristie Lu Stout breaks down the hard data behind human trafficking to interactively show viewers where the key trafficking routes are around the world and who the big offenders are. She highlights what Hollywood couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are doing to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and follow the impact of their campaign online.
'News Stream' also profiles the courageous groups and individuals on the frontlines doing genuinely admirable work. Kristie hears from David Batstone, a modern-day abolitionist who leads the 'Not For Sale' anti-human trafficking campaign. Batstone discusses how he tracks trafficking and saves victims from this horrific way of living.
The program hears how the internet brings people together to stop sex trafficking. Kristie speaks to Daniel Reetz, a blogger who used an online message board to prevent his two Russian female friends from falling into a trafficking scam. 'News Stream' also speaks to Justin Dillon, a rock musician whose desire to put on a benefit concert for anti-slavery charities grew into a "rockumentary" titled 'Call+Response'.
In addition, 'News Stream' shows viewers how they can help. The program looks at what kind of mobile apps can be used to take action and introduces what "slave free" products are. Kristie engages with global viewers via social media and hears how they are taking a stand against human slavery.
This special series on News Stream airs at 8pm Hong Kong time every night this week.
'News Stream' Explores China's Online Society In Special Series
CNN International's News Stream has been dedicating time this week to exploring the power of the internet in China. The special series continues today, Thursday and Friday.
CNN Press Release: CNN'S 'NEWS STREAM' FEATURES A WEEK OF SPECIAL COVERAGE ON THE POWER OF THE INTERNET IN CHINA
As the show marks its 100th episode, CNN's technology-powered news program News Stream investigates the impact of the Internet on Chinese society in a week of special coverage, featuring in-depth reports, interviews and analysis.
China has more Internet users than the entire population of the United States: A staggering 450 million people. But who are they, what interests them most and what sites do they visit ? Host Kristie Lu Stout looks beyond the numbers to find out how this massive group are spending their time online.
Kristie also looks at Sina Weibo, China's version of twitter. The microblogging service is fast approaching 100 million users despite only launching in 2009. Kristie explains the differences between the two services and looks at how Sina Weibo has become one of the leaders in social media.
The special coverage continues as Beijing-based correspondent Eunice Yoon features two of China's most popular websites - Baidu and Taobao. She follows a 29-year-old engineer who works at Baidu to find out how the search engine has transformed itself into one of the biggest names on the Internet. She also looks at the success story behind Taobao, China's biggest online retailer, which sells an average 48,000 items per minute and has more than 370 million users.
While China has the world's most active Internet users, online censorship is among the most stringent anywhere. News Stream shows how the 'Great Firewall' impacts online life and what people do to get around it.
And there's more on News Stream's website, including an interview with noted blogger and activist Isaac Mao.
This special series on News Stream airs at 8pm Hong Kong time (1200 GMT) this week.
About News Stream
Airs weeknights Monday to Friday at 2000HKT (1200 GMT) Duration: 1 hour News Stream is a one-hour live news program powered by the smart use of technology. Anchored from CNN Hong Kong by Kristie Lu Stout, News Stream uses visualization tools, riveting imagery and social media to enhance our view of today's most pressing issues.
CNN Press Release:CNN CONNECTS VIEWERS TO NEW EVENING PRIMETIME LINE-UP USING AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGY
CNN is redefining the news experience for its viewers debuting a unique technology-driven global marketing campaign. To launch CNN's new weekday evening primetime line up in Asia Pacific, led by News Stream airing at 9pm Hong Kong time, the campaign uses Augmented Reality technology to animate CNN anchor Kristie Lu Stout.
Using image recognition and 3D graphics, the News Stream host appears on the computer screen once the application is downloaded from www.tonightoncnn.com/ar and activated by a webcam. Users can then share their experience through Facebook and Twitter.
The Augmented Reality experience also serves to introduce CNN's global audience to its new Asia primetime evening line up from 9pm to midnight Hong Kong time, while connecting them further to the CNN brand.
In Asia Pacific the digital campaign further extends to an extensive print and on-ground experience across Hong Kong, Singapore and India. Starting November 17 in Hong Kong, the network brings its news studio to the city's streets in branded CNN Augmented Reality Vans to allow consumers the opportunity to experience the technology first hand.
The new campaign launches as the global news network continues its month of dedicated Asia coverage, encompassing special programming weeks from Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia.
About CNN's weekday evening primetime line up (all Hong Kong time)
21:00 News Stream is an hour-long show hosted by award-winning anchor Kristie Lu Stout that uses smart, cutting-edge technology to better relate news stories and forge relationships with viewers.
22:00 World Business Today, anchored from the world's three most influential financial hubs with Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, Charles Hodson in London and Maggie Lake in New York, the program follows the opening of the New York Stock Exchange and provides an hour of insightful business news and analysis.
23:00 International Desk with Isha Sesay brings viewers into the heart of CNN as news stories develop and break.
News Stream with Kristie Lu Stout premieres Monday on CNN International and today we got a sneak preview of what to expect - courtesy of Back|Story.
Regular viewers of CNN International will note the outer wall of the Hong Kong control room has been decorated with the map motif that also features in the network's studios. We also learn from the preview that Hong Kong is also in line to get a bigger touchscreen.
Also today, Kristie Lu Stout posted the following introduction to News Stream on her facebook page.
A year ago, my producer and I threw out a question. “If Steve Jobs produced a news show, what would it look like?”
Bizarre? Yes. Highly unlikely? Of course.
But that simple question got me and my producer, Ravi Hiranand, fired up about how the smart use of technology can give our viewers a better understanding of the world.
Answering that question eventually led us to News Stream – our new show on CNN International where news and technology meet.
We believe technology is more than gadgets and apps. It’s an approach. When used correctly, it can enhance our view of today’s most pressing issues. Don't worry, we're not making a technology show. News Stream will be a thorough account of all the day's main news stories and we'll still be relying on the reporting of CNN's brilliant roster of correspondents around the globe.
But News Stream will be different.
On News Stream, we'll be using visualization tools to give stories context. For example, with Google Earth we can take a model of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai, and see how it sizes up in other world skylines in New York City or Hong Kong. With this piece of software, you immediately get a better sense of just how massive the structure is.
We also use visualization apps that CNN has developed in-house. Our digital media producer, John Sanders, created a 3-D word cloud application that can visually depict the word content of a text in multiple dimensions. When we placed Barack Obama’s 2009 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech into the word cloud, we could clearly see the word “war” was used more than “peace”.
Other visualization tools include physical props like airplane models to show us how competing Boeing and Airbus aircraft compare when placed side by side. We’re also not shy about using decidedly low-tech materials like LEGO or even cardboard and a bit of duct tape! As long as a prop serves a purpose and helps tell the story in compelling ways, we'll put it on air.
Using technology as an approach also means keeping our eye on social media to see what stories matter to people around the globe. But we don’t limit ourselves to what’s trending on Twitter and Facebook, we’ll also keep an eye on the leading social sites in China, Indonesia, Brazil and elsewhere.
And finally, we keep tabs on all things geek on News Stream. We test the latest gadgets, showcase innovative uses of technology, and check in with the titans of tech. Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, and Marissa Mayer, the gatekeeper of Google, are just two of the many high-profile newsmakers we’ve already profiled on the show.
So if you’re a news hound, a global nomad, or a tech junkie (or all three like me), I have a hunch you’ll want to tune in.
And if you see an app or piece of hardware that would enhance my presentation or better convey the drama of a story, please send tips my way (twitter.com/klustout). We're out to produce the smartest news show we can, but we can't do it without you.
Catch News Stream, Monday through Friday 9pm Hong Kong time, 1pm London, 9am New York.
And finally, be sure to check out some rehearsal pictures from the official News Stream facebook page.
UPDATE: CNN.com has just published a video from Kristie Lu Stout. It also features a rather cool jib shot of the News Stream set.
CNN International today kicks off a series of special reports from Vietnam as part of the CNN Freedom Project.
