Humanitarian Experts, Cindy McCain and Kevin Hyland, to close International Council of Nurses Congress in Singapore

Geneva, Switzerland; 11 April 2019 - Humanitarian and human trafficking experts – Kevin Hyland and Cindy McCain - will address audiences on the final day, 1 July 2019, of the International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) Congress in Singapore.

Cindy McCain, American businesswoman, philanthropist, educator and humanitarian, will be the keynote speaker at the closing session.   Board chair of the McCain Institute and co-chair of the Arizona Governor’s Council on Human Trafficking, Mrs McCain has been a leading voice for human trafficking awareness, especially since the death of her husband, former United States Senator, John McCain.  The McCain Institute has five core programmes: Next Generation Leaders, International Rule of Law and Security; Combatting Human trafficking; Human Rights and Democracy, and Counterterrorism and National Security.

Kevin Hyland, OBE, member of the Council of Europe Independent Group of Experts for Trafficking and former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner for the UK, will be one of the two opening speakers on the final day.  Mr Hyland was the leader of London’s Human Trafficking Unit, and is chief advisor to the Santa Marta Group, a high-level partnership between law enforcement agencies, faith groups and civil society endorsed by Pope Francis at its launch in the Vatican. He leads several international anti trafficking projects chairing the Responsible Recruitment Group of the Institute of Human Rights and Business and the Island of Ireland Human Trafficking Project and provides strategic leadership to the OSCE in producing global victim support guidance.

“We are honoured to have Mrs McCain and Mr Hyland as plenary speakers at the end of four days of high-level expert speakers and a full and exciting programme,” said Howard Catton, ICN’s Chief Executive Officer. “As the first point of contact in many health settings, nurses must be able to recognise the warning signs associated with human trafficking, and learn how to respond.  We look forward to learning from these experts and raising awareness of the reality of modern-day slavery.”

Delegates who attend ICN 2019 will have a very enriching and rewarding experience.  Keynote speakers, including Elizabeth Iro, WHO Chief Nursing Officer; Mr Kim Hwang-sik, former Prime Minister of South Korea; and Dr Linda Aiken, renowned nurse academic; will address key issues affecting the world’s health and the nursing professions.

One of the largest gatherings of nurses in the world, the ICN Congress will be held between 27 June and 1 July in Singapore. For more information and to register please go to: https://www.icn.ch/events/icn-congress-2019-singapore

Note for Editors

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses’ associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide. Operated by nurses and leading nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality care for all and sound health policies globally.

For further information please contact

Gyorgy Madarasz, Press Officer, International Council of Nurses, Tel: +41 22 908 01 16

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