Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin visited Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. recently and met with IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias and Bank executives to inform about his interest in the fight against human trafficking and to explore avenues of collaboration between the institution and his "People for Children” Campaign.
The musician started the campaign to create awareness on the issues surrounding the exploitation of children and to fight child pornography and prostitution through educational efforts and charitable contributions. The Ricky Martin Foundation, also created by him, is a non-profit organization that helps a wide range of mostly child-focused institutions and projects. It is now spearheading this effort in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Bank recently sponsored a seminar on human trafficking, highlighting best practices, and has launched successful public awareness campaigns leading to policy changes and the development of national action plans for social issues.