The children surrounding the woman are holding hands and moving in her direction. She is a figurehead, a positive role model for change. In its entirety, the memorial represents the empowerment of individual women and of women collectively. The memorial suggests that as we have more powerful female role models, we can achieve the goal of a global egalitarian society that does not tolerate or tacitly condone any type of human trafficking.
Several of the children in the memorial sculpture are depicted holding books. Their books represent education, and the power of information to transform lives. We project that sponsors of and donors to the memorial can inscribe their names and the names of their institutions on the books. This will alert visitors as to which organizations are committed to change. Because the memorial is located in public spaces, visitors can arrive any time of day or night to meditate on the plight of those who continue to be bought and sold into slavery. At night, the memorial is skillfully and tastefully lit to allow for contemplation.
The memorial will have a multimedia component, as there will be a QC symbol for scanning with smartphone. Visitors can scan the symbol for updates in the global quest to eliminate human trafficking and sex slavery. The visitor can learn about what he or she can do to help. The links also allow the visitor to explore some of the success stories of people who have extricated themselves from slavery. Also, the visitor can use the multimedia interaction to learn about the symbol...
Other ways that visitors will interact with the memorial is by being able to physically engage with the sculptures by walking around them and through all the children. The impact will be astounding, because the artist will render the children in a lifelike manner. They are surrounding the main woman bearing the double axe. When the visitor walks around the memorial, one is offered different views of the larger-than-life woman who stands about five stories high.
Memorials are long-lasting public reminders of a situation, event, and need for change. This memorial is about human trafficking, and takes into account the structural issues that are at stake. When impoverished communities around the world are educated about the problem of human trafficking, parents might be less likely to sell their children. The goal of the memorial is to symbolize change via the large female figure who serves as a maternal role model. This memorial also attempts to draw attention to this complex issue. If people were not poor enough or desperate enough, they would not sell their children or entrust their lives to strangers. It is because of structural issues that slavery continues. Each and every child is inscribed with names to commemorate individuals who were enslaved and abused. This personalizes the memorial and draws attention to the diverse stories that comprise the lives of victims.
Work Cited
Kristof, Nicholas D. And WuDunn, Sheryl. Half the Sky. Random House, 2009.
