Portal de la Cultura - América Latina y el Caribe

		News		Links		Opinions		About us
						Contact us		Sitemap

Main cultural documents

World Heritage Sites

Intercultural Dialogue=> Slave Route

With the project The Slave Route, UNESCO intends to break the silence on slave trade and slavery, to objectively clarify the consequences and interactions resulting from the slave trade –particularly the interactions between the peoples who suffered from it in Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, as well as the many aspects that have played a role in founding modern societies, their culture, knowledge, beliefs and behavior- and to contribute to the establishment of a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence between races and peoples, favoring at the same time the reflection on cultural pluralism, the construction of new identities and intercultural dialogue. UNESCO also struggles against the new forms of slavery promoting prevention campaigns adapted to local cultures.

UNESCO’s General Assembly approved the Project The Slave Route in its 27th session, held in 1993 (Resolution 27 C/3.13), after a proposal from Haiti and a group of African countries.

The Slave Route Project has organized its activities into four main programmes:

-	the scientific programme on thematic networks (Fight against Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia)

-	the programme for teaching and education on the slave trade and slavery implemented within the framework of UNESCO’s Associated Schools Project (Breaking the silence)

-	the programme for the promotion of cultures and living forms of artistic and spiritual expressions resulting from the interactions generated by the slave trade and slavery

-	the programme on cultural tourism for the identification, restoration and promotion of sites and places of memory of the slave trade and slavery in Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean. This includes the identification and preservation of archives – written and oral traditions – relative to the slave trade (Slave Trade Archives project) and the development of a tourism of memory.

During the initial ten years (1994-2004) of the programme, the Slave Route Project achieved significant results. The adoption of the Declaration and the Programme of Action of the International Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Intolerance (Durban, 31 August – 8 September 2001) and the Proclamation of the year 2004 as the International Year for the Commemoration of the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition were important landmarks in the strengthening of synergies among the various lines of action of the Project.

Taking into consideration the long way to be traversed in achieving the project’s major objectives and thus contribute to the establishment of a culture of peace, peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding among peoples, UNESCO has drafted a New Strategy for the Project The Slave Route.

UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, within the framework of the Project and its Programmes, has developed a group of actions, among which mention should be made of:

-	Sponsors the Regional Network of Research Institutions on Afro-American Religions

-	Coordinates and funds the Portal of the Regional Network of Research Institutions on Afro-American Religions.

-	Project on the Places of Memory of The Slave Route Project in the Latin Caribbean finalized.