In 2014, UNESCO celebrates the 20th Anniversary of The Slave Route Project, launched in 1994 in Ouidah (Benin). Resolution 37 C/Res1.VI adopted at the 37th session of UNESCO's General Conference requested the Director-General "to develop and implement a programme of activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the project in different regions of the world". This celebration is also part of the 50th anniversary of the General History of Africa project. In addition, it prefigures the launch in January 2015, of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). Latin America and the Caribbean join the celebration with programmes of activities in a number of Member States. This issue of the Newsletter of the Portal of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean is devoted to disseminate the information on the activities in the Region in the context of the 20th anniversary of The Slave Route. It is also our tribute to those men and women which were victims of that crime against humanity and gave us not only their sweat and blood, but the rich cultural heritage born of that tragedy.

The Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba, Argentina, which were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO in 2000, and, in turn, identified by the country in 2011 as Places of Memory of the Slave Route, received on 11 June the UNESCO plaque of recognition within the framework of the 20th Anniversary of the project. Also as part of the celebration, on 22 March, UNESCO Montevideo and the School of Philosophy of the University of Buenos Aires organised the lecture "Comments on the Creation of the Afro-Brazilian Museum", delivered by Prof. Vanicléia Silva Santos, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). And in August, a cultural event will be held at the Auditorium of the Association of Friends of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires.

The West Indies University, in collaboration with UNESCO, will inaugurate in November the Memorial Centre dedicated to the Slave Trade and Slavery. In addition, it will soon publish A Guide to Slave Route Sites of Memory in the Caribbean, with information on the sites identified in the Caribbean region in their historical context, which will be made available to both academia and the general public interested in delving on the topic and acquiring a better understanding of the slave trade and slavery.

In order to recognise the influence of African history and culture in Brazilian society, the UNESCO Office in Brasilia promotes the Brazil-Africa Programme: Crossed Stories, in collaboration with the nation's cultural and educational institutions. The first action of this Programme was the translation into Portuguese of the collection General History of Africa. After Law 10.639 of 2003 was passed, stipulating that the history of Afro-Brazilian and African culture be included in basic education, the Programme began to issue pedagogical materials for all educational levels, starting with the Synthesis of the General History of Africa, and African and Afro-Brazilian History and Culture in Children's Education. And, as happens every year, the Programme promoted the celebration of Africa Day, 25 May / Africa Week, 26-28 May, with a broad programme of cultural festivities including exhibits, screenings, food fairs and artistic galas.

In Colombia a broad programme is being implemented to develop culture and different artistic manifestations fruit of the African legacy. For example, every year, in May, the African Legacy Month is celebrated in Colombia, this time under the slogan "Memory, History and Oral Tradition". And last March the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was commemorated. This year, in addition, efforts are being made to support development and wellbeing in the Archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia, a place that treasures the rich cultural heritage of people of African descent. Colombia also made a unique contribution to the dissemination of music with African roots in the region with the release of the record Sons and Music of Latin American Afro-descendants (2013), which received this year the International Award at Cubadisco 2014 in Havana.

In February, the International Symposium "The Meaning of Blackness/Significance of Being Black" was held in San José, organised by the University of Costa Rica. The event discussed the multiple meanings, images and representations of being black and the ambiguities of Africanness in historical and contemporary contexts. To do so, they parted from different questions, such as: What does it mean to be black? When is a person black and when is he not? How has the perception of "race" changed over time? In what respect is the history of people of African descent different and in what respect are their paths similar in different parts of the world? What has been the role of blacks in building nations and official identities in Spanish America and other parts of the world?

In 2014 the Cuban National Committee of the Slave Route: Resistance, Liberty and Heritage celebrates its 20th anniversary, the same as the UNESCO project. To commemorate both events a comprehensive Programme has been designed that began in January and will continue throughout the year. The activities include, for example, the publication of books and articles, as well as conferences, lectures, work with the UNESCO Associated Schools of Cuba, elaboration of educational materials and participation in scientific and cultural events, among them, the 18th Workshop on Afro-American Social and Cultural Anthropology, the 7th Colloquium on Afro-American Religions, the celebration of the Day of Cultural Diversity and Africa Day at Cuba's National Slave Route Museum, as well as the 34th Caribbean Festival dedicated to Suriname.

From 10 to 13 December 2014, in the city of Pointe-à-Pitre, the conference "Heritage and Memory of Slavery", as well as the inauguration of the Itinerary of Memory of Guadeloupe will take place. Both will be organised by the Schoelcher Museum, in collaboration with the Guadeloupe General Council.

The Mexican city of Acapulco will host the Meeting of the International Scientific Committee of the Slave Route Project: Activities to celebrate the 20th Anniversary. The meeting, organised by UNESCO in collaboration with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, will take place from 19 to 22 November 2014. It will be a fitting occasion for the Inauguration of a Memory Route / Itinerary of Memory Tourism in the country. The event will be one of the main activities conducted by Mexico on occasion of the 20th anniversary.

On October 2014, the capital of Panama will host the Round Table "Challenges of the International Decade for People of African Descent: New Forms of Citizenship and Rights/Justice". The event, of a regional scope, will be organised by the UNESCO Culture Sector in collaboration with the Organisation's Offices in Latin America and the Caribbean and cultural institutions in the region.

June is the Month of Afro-Peruvian Culture, and to celebrate it, the country's Ministry of Culture has prepared an extensive programme of activities. For 30 days various State institutions, academia and civil society will join efforts to sensitize, inform and disseminate among its citizens the history and great contributions of the people of African descent in Peru.

In Santo Domingo a meeting took place to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March) at the Enriquillo Sánchez Auditorium of the Ministry of Culture, with the participation of over 540 teachers and students from 15 educational centres of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) of the Caribbean nation.

The city of Colonia del Sacramento, World Heritage site and place of memory of the Slave Route, received the UNESCO commemorative plaque on 29 April. Also in the context of the 20th Anniversary of the Slave Route, the travelling showcase "Hairstyle of Kings: History, Art and Resistance of the Afro Hairstyle" was presented at the Carlos Roxlo Library. In collaboration with the National Commission of Cultural Heritage, the research on the "Places of Memory and Living Cultures of People of African Descent" is still being conducted, a project promoted by the UNESCO Office in Montevideo since 2009. In addition, the group Triangulación Kultural is preparing the show "Native Candombe", which will be presented in the months to come.

In Venezuela, the rich legacy of African cultures, an essential component of the nation's identity and cultural diversity, continues to be preserved and conveyed. In this context, the First International Conference on African Knowledge and Diaspora "We are Afro-Caribbean" was held in Caracas from 11 to 13 February, organised by the Institute for Strategic Research on Africa and its Diaspora (African Knowledge Centre) and the Rómulo Gallegos Centre for Latin American Studies (CELARG Foundation). Likewise, the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (BUV), the African Knowledge Centre, the Vice-Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Africa of the People's Power Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the artistic group Al abrigo del Baobab and the CELARG Foundation jointly organised last May the educational-cultural activity called Merienda de Negras to celebrate the Day of Afrovenezonalidad [Afro-Venezuelanness].

The Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held in Havana, Cuba, on 28-29 January 2014, adopted a Special Declaration on the Issue of Reparations for Slavery and the Genocide of Native Peoples, as well as a Special Declaration on the Initiative of Erecting a Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
In December 2013, the CELAC Foreign Ministers issued a Communiqué on the Decade for People of African Descent.

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UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Havana, Cuba:
Herman van Hooff, Fernando Brugman, Olga Rufins, Elba Suárez, Junior González and Sonia Dunn.

Contributions to this edition: Riane de Haas-Bledoeg, Deputy Programme Manager Culture, CARICOM; Frédéric Vacheron, Culture Programme Specialist, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean, Montevideo, Uruguay.