Mobilizing humanity to renew hope: September 25, 2025

Mobilizing humanity to renew hope. Palermo, long a crossroads of cultures and migration, will become the stage for an urgent international dialogue from 30 September to 3 October 2025.

Mobilizing humanity to renew hope

Together with other organisations, Caritas Internationalis is bringing together Church leaders, civil society groups, and, crucially, survivors of trafficking for “Mobilising Humanity to Rebuild Hope.” The event marks both the Jubilee of Migrants and the Missionary World and the 25th anniversary of the Palermo Protocols, the UN conventions that laid the foundation for global action against human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

At the heart of the four-day programme is a commitment to listen. The so-called “Human Library” on 30 September will allow survivors, migrants, and refugees to share their personal stories with participants — not as statistics, but as voices of resilience. Their testimonies set the tone for the meeting’s central message: policies and strategies are meaningless unless they protect the dignity and rights of people on the move.

“Too often survivors are silenced by stigma or bureaucracy, Here, their experience is the compass for our advocacy.”

Elena Sofia Fanciulli, Advocacy and Policy Officer at Caritas Internationalis

Panels on 1 October will revisit the Palermo Protocols through a critical lens. Judge Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, former UN Special Rapporteur, and experts from the International Organization for Migration will weigh the achievements and failures of the past 25 years. Caritas Somalia will report on trafficking along the Horn of Africa, while Caritas France will focus on the plight of unaccompanied minors.

Caritas Ukraine will share “Fragile Life,” a docudrama portraying how war exposes women and children to trafficking networks.

New trends in trafficking are also on the agenda: the rise of online exploitation, recruitment through social media, and forced labour in conflict zones. To confront these shifting realities, COATNET — the global Caritas-led network against trafficking — is presenting joint strategies that link local responses with global advocacy. By connecting survivors’ testimonies from Africa, Asia, and Europe, COATNET works to expose new forms of exploitation and push for policies that prioritise protection over criminalisation.

Youth campaign © CaritasNigeria

The second day, 2 October, brings testimonies from survivors turned advocates. The association “Donne di Benin City”, led by Nigerian women who escaped sexual exploitation, will describe their fight to defend and empower others.

Caritas Ragusa will present its “Progetto Presidio,” built with seasonal farmworkers to break the cycle of caporalato. From Asia to Latin America, Caritas delegates will highlight forced labour and sexual exploitation, with survivors’ stories grounding each discussion.

On 2 October an important and symbolic interreligious prayer at Palermo’s Foro Italico, will be coinciding with the anniversary of the 2013 Lampedusa shipwreck, one of the worst tragedies in the Mediterranean that claimed 368 lives.

From Palermo, Caritas will send a clear message: the fight against trafficking cannot be won with laws alone. It requires listening to survivors, defending their rights, and transforming their stories into a path for justice.

The full program is available here in English, Italian, French, and Spanish.

On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update. You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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