USA Africa Dialogue Series - UN LAUNCHES COMPETITION TO DESIGN MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF SLAVERY

UN LAUNCHES COMPETITION TO DESIGN MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF SLAVERY

New York, Sep 30 2011 3:05PM

The committee tasked with building a permanent memorial at the United
Nations to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade
today launched a global competition for the design of the structure to
remind the world that millions of Africans were violently removed from
their homelands, abused and robbed of their dignity.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will
administer the design competition, Ambassador Raymond Wolfe of Jamaica,
the chair of the Permanent Memorial Committee on Slavery and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade, told a news conference at UN Headquarters.

"As we launch the competition I am pleased to report that all stakeholders
including the members of the committee, Member States of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) and the Africa Group which participated in the
negotiations are supremely confident that UNESCO will manage a
transparent, inclusive and politically impartial selection process," said
Mr. Wolfe.

He urged ministries of foreign affairs and culture of Member States to
disseminate information about the design competition so that a "rich and
diverse pool of applications can be submitted to UNESCO for
consideration." The deadline for submitting designs to the competition is
19 December 2011.

Philippe Kridelka, the Director of UNESCO's New York Office and
Representative to the UN, noted that the monument will not only be a
symbol, but part of an education process in memory of slavery and the
trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Some $4.5 million is required to build the monument, and just over $1
million has been raised through donations from States and others sources.
Mr. Wolfe encouraged corporations, philanthropists and the private sector
to contribute to the project.
--
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222 (fax)
http://www.toyinfalola.com/
www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com