Opening Speech: The 2025 Ardea Conference

Delived by Colleen on 12th November 2025, at Ardea’s third annual modern slavery conference.

It’’s a real privilege to stand before such a distinguished gathering of thought-leaders, practitioners, and change-makers — people who are deeply committed to dismantling exploitation in all its forms. 

This year’s theme — “Understanding Modern Slavery as Part of Human Rights Due Diligence” — reminds us that modern slavery is not a peripheral risk or a box-ticking compliance issue. It is a core human rights issue. And if we are serious about upholding dignity, we must integrate our efforts to address it into the very fabric of business operations, governance, and global value chains.  It sits at the heart of responsible business, touching on everything from investor confidence to brand reputation, from how companies treat their workers to how they live their values. 

At Ardea International, our mission is to help organisations move beyond mere compliance — to build systems, practices, and cultures that embed human rights protections.  

This year also marks an exciting milestone for Ardea International with the development of Taberah, our online due diligence platform. Taberah empowers organisations to turn commitment into measurable action — providing data-driven evidence of modern slavery risk and enabling companies to track and demonstrate impact over time. It is designed to make human rights due diligence both practical and transparent, supporting businesses to identify where they stand and where they can improve. 

Alongside this, we are proud to celebrate the launch of Tendai International, a global initiative born from the same vision—a not-for-profit focused on equipping and empowering women and girls who are vulnerable to exploitation by supporting their well-being, dignity, and economic empowerment. Last year, we mentioned that we had registered Tendai and would be launching a pilot project. We have done that, and the team and I would be happy to share more about it during the day. We also have a raffle to raise funds for extending the pilot project. Through shared learning, technology, and partnership, both Taberah and Tendai embody what we stand for: moving beyond compliance towards collective action that helps to eradicate modern slavery risk and promote accountability across global value chains. The Ardea team are the backbone of both these initiatives, and I am immensely grateful for their hard work and perseverance.  

Today is not just about identifying risk. It’s about generating practical solutions, learning from each other’s journeys, and forging commitments that lead to meaningful change. 

We’ve structured today intentionally to reflect that ambition.  

Over the course of today, you will also hear from a diverse lineup of experts — from policy analysts to legal advisors, from practitioners in finance, sport, and sustainability, to people with lived experience of exploitation. 

 This diversity is not accidental. We believe that tackling modern slavery effectively demands perspectives from every corner — public, private, civil society — and the full weight of human experience. 

This conference is part of that wider journey. It’s about building clarity, confidence, and connection — three things that I believe drive lasting impact. 

• Clarity in understanding what modern slavery looks like across industries and supply chains. 
• Confidence to act — to move from policy to practice. 
• And connection — to collaborate, to learn, and to keep each other accountable. 

We are honoured to partner with the Bakhita centre (where I was a fellow for a number of years and to be joined by Dr Carole Murphy, our keynote speaker, as well as DMH Stallard and Debbie Venn who partnered with us previously when we set up the conference.  

 We can’t shy away from the commercial realities businesses face. But we also know that doing the right thing isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s a smart business decision. Risk mitigation, reputation protection, investor assurance — these are all aligned with human rights action. 

As we begin, I invite you to reflect on three key questions: 

1. How can we embed modern slavery risk into our human rights due diligence in a way that is meaningful, not just procedural? 
2. Where do we see real opportunities for collaboration — across sectors, across disciplines, and between organisations — to prevent forced labour? 
3. What concrete steps will you take from this conference — in your own role or your own organisation — to drive change forward? 

In posing these questions, I don’t expect that we will find all the answers today. But by the end of this conference, my hope is that we will leave with new ideas, renewed commitment, and practical tools to accelerate our work. 

Finally, I want to acknowledge that the work ahead is not easy. Modern slavery is deeply entrenched in economic systems, social vulnerabilities, and power imbalances. But I also want to remind us all of the power of this space. This conference — with its small, intimate setting — is designed precisely to foster honest dialogue, bold thinking, and practical collaboration. Thank you again for being here. Thank you for your courage, your curiosity, and your commitment. Together, I believe we can lead beyond compliance. Together, we can make a difference.