Our Lead Researcher Olga Martin-Ortega (Professor of International Law at the University of Greenwich) presented the talk “Changing the world one Tender at a time” at the TEDx – University of Greenwich.

In this talk, Professor Olga Martin-Ortega proposes that governments use their purchasing power to fight human rights abuses in supply chains – not just addressing economic inequalities in our societies through public procurement, but seeking to restructure global production systems and their supply chains, which trap people in situations of abuse and endless cycles of human rights violations. She highlights the need to push public procurement further on its journey from a buying process to a social tool, to make it into a transformative instrument beyond its borders.

Olga’s work on public procurement and human rights has been assessed as world-leading by the United Kingdom Research Excellence Framework. Her work on public procurement, human rights, and due diligence has been instrumental to the development, both in the United Kingdom and internationally, of public buyers’ responsibilities towards the human rights of those working in their supply chains. Her research has had a decisive impact through three pathways: 1) on national and international law and policy development: 2) on the UK and international public buyers’ supply chain due diligence practices to prevent modern slavery and human rights abuses; and 3) on civil societies’ efforts to promote transparency in the electronics industry, improve working conditions for thousands of workers, and provide remediation for violations. Read more at the Linked Magazine, issue Summer 2022.

Do you know what is a TEDx conference? In the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program helps communities, organizations and individuals produce TED-style events at the local level. TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis, under a free license from TED.

The TEDx University of Greenwich occurred on November 5, 2021, and the recordings are now available!

Olga Martin-Ortega

Lead Researcher

Professor of International Law at the School of Law, University of Greenwich