Pathbreaker Awards

In 2000, the U.S. Department of State engaged Shared Hope International to hold Pathbreaking Strategies Conferences in six countries to energize the global conversation about the issue of trafficking and share innovative approaches to combat the problem. The conferences led to significant change in the global landscape of national responses to trafficking in countries that were behind the global community and enabling an environment that was fostering trafficking with no developed response. During this process, the Pathbreaker Award was established to recognize the pioneering efforts of individuals throughout the world who broke the trend of inaction and initiated proactive responses to prevent trafficking.

The Kaleidoscope is an apt representation of a Pathbreaker’s approach to the problem of sex trafficking. The problem, when viewed from the outside, like the kaleidoscope it appears solid and impenetrable; but a look inside stirs the viewer’s imagination with creative possibilities that are shaped and colored by the lens through which they are considered.