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Several
culture organisations have concluded plans to convene an international
conference on ‘Slavery, Slave Trade and their Consequences’ to be held
at the Royal Park Hotel, Iloko-Ijesa, Osun State, from August 23 to 26.

Partnering on the
conference are: The Centre for Black Culture and International
Understanding, a category II UNESCO Institute owned by the Osun State
Government; the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization
(CBAAC); the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group
(PANAFSTRAG); and the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National
Orientation.

The sub-themes of
the conference, according to a statement from the Central Planning
Committee headed by Abi Derefaka, are: ‘Historiography of Slavery and
Slave Trade’; ‘Regional Perspectives on Slavery and Slave Trade’;
‘Globalisation and New Forms of Enslavement’; ‘Enslavement and Global
Africa Diaspora’; ‘Slave Market and Routes’; ‘Monuments, Relics and
Tourism’ and ‘Reconciliation, Reparation and Rehabilitation’.

The conference,
which will feature eminent academics including Toyin Falola, J. F Ade
Ajayi, E.J Alagoa, Paul Lovejoy, Felix Chami and Bolanle Awe, is
expected to explore fresh areas of schorlarship on slavery and the
slave trade. It is also expected to expand extant literature on the
theme as well as open up new avenues for research.

A number of
individuals and organisations have started identifying with the
conference. Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola has promised to
support the forum. Oyinlola, while receiving the report of the
Committee on the planning and execution of the conference, noted that
it is “important and necessary within the context of preserving our
history and documenting our experiences.”

He disclosed that
Osun State decided to host the forum because of its role in the
cultural space of Nigeria, Africa and the world. He also welcomed the
fact that the conference will coincide with the Osun Osogbo
International Festival.

Edmund Mukala, a
UNESCO official, noted that the conference is strategic and important,
given Nigeria’s position in the slave trade and emancipation efforts.
The UNESCO programmes specialist said this after attending the meeting
of the Planning Committee as an observer.

He added that
UNESCO sees the conference as an extension of the Slave Route Project
that the world body has been working on for 15 years. Mukala said that
UNESCO’s support for the conference is an indication of the commitment
of its Director-General, Irina Bokova, to ensuring that the activities
of the Slave Route Project are revived and reinforced worldwide.

He added that the conference coming on the eve of the commemoration
of the 2011 UN International Year for the Population of African
Descents will provide an avenue for the formulation of a clear plan of
action in their favour.