UDON THANI, Thailand, May 24, 2014 – Over 7,000 young people from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries attended two “MTV EXIT Live in Udon Thani” concerts supported by USAID to learn about the dangers of human trafficking and modern day slavery. The concert lineup featured multi-platinum artists Bodyslam, ASEAN collective Project E.A.R., Slot Machine, Palmy and more, and was broadcast live-to-air on Thailand’s MCOT 360 HD, MTV Thailand and N Channel reaching as many as 500,000 people.

The show was also covered on MTV EXIT’s social media platforms. Over 124,000 people viewed the “MTV EXIT Live in Udon Thani” Facebook page, 11,000 people “Liked” the event, and over 900 photos were uploaded by users to the “MTV EXIT Live in Udon Thani” Instagram page. In the coming weeks, a 30-minute in-depth feature on Bodyslam’s journey with MTV EXIT will air on MTV Thailand, and a 30-minute Concert Special, featuring Project E.A.R., will air on MTV Asia in July. 

“Today is monumental in the fight against human trafficking in ASEAN. Our voice is 7,000-people strong today in Udon Thani – and we are sending a clear message to the region that this crime will not be tolerated. By telling our friends and family what we learned here today, we will keep each other from falling into the trafficking trap,” said MTV EXIT Director Matt Love.

Thai bands Bodyslam, Slot Machine, Palmy, Scrubb and Kala; Lao rockers Cells; and ASEAN collective Project E.A.R. (East Asian Revolution) joined other passionate anti-human trafficking advocates, including local and international governments, NGOs and MTV EXIT’s ASEAN youth leaders, to share safe migration tips with the 7,000 concertgoers.

Concertgoers made the most of the festival-like atmosphere, packing the NGO booth area to pick up educational information on human trafficking from organizations including the International Labour Organization, United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons and World Vision. 

Throughout the concert, youth took 'selfies' using the hashtag #LIVEinUdonThani, generating over 900 uploads to Instagram directly from the event.

“MTV EXIT and all of our partners have been committed to this message: ‘Have fun, enjoy yourselves, but be safe’. You mean a lot to your friends and families. You have a future to look forward to. Let’s all make sure we get on that journey safely,” said Danny Lee, Director for Community Affairs Development, ASEAN Secretariat.

The MTV EXIT campaign is produced in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. MCOT, N Channel, TQPR, AV Systems, Central Plaza and the Centara Hotel were official partners for the event.