18 May IFG Hackathon 2022: How data analysis identifies palm oil companies exploiting their workers
The International Fraud Group (IFG) has concluded the 2022 edition of its international Hackathon which, in conjunction with the non-profit organisations Traffik Analysis Hub and Stop The Traffik, has awarded prizes to the best technology projects that identify companies in the palm oil sector that exploit their workers.
From IUS + AEQUITAS we support all initiatives that promote respect for workers and try to improve those sectors where unfair or inhumane treatment of people has been normalised.
Under the slogan «Help us see more so just numbers», this Hackathon was attended by 1,000 projects from different parts of the world: North America, Europe, South and Southeast Asia.
The main objective was to design and develop a programme capable of analysing the data published by companies dedicated to the palm oil sector and establish a risk score for those companies whose financial data (such as the cost of production) suggested a likelihood of exploitation of their workforce.
The winner of this Hackathon was an Indonesian project whose programme compiles the risks of exploitation in countries with companies involved in the palm oil trade. This project has been awarded £3,000 and will receive legal advice from the firm Mishcon de Reya.
This technology event has been developed at a time when «human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal businesses in the world», according to Stop The Traffik CEO Ruth Dearnley OBE.
This Hackathon, devised by the IFG and Stop The Traffik leadership, has finally achieved its goal: to find unique technology projects that can come up with some kind of formula or algorithm to help identify human trafficking and the vulnerabilities of those large companies that practice this negligent action.
«This is the beginning of the road,» says Gary Miller, chairman of IFG, who hopes that IFG can help the winning Hackathon project introduce more data scientists and analysts to finding solutions to human trafficking.
