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International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (23 August 2007)

This is the famous ‘door of no return’ from the Maison des Esclaves. Millions of enslaved Africans left through here on their way to sea, and never came back. (Image: Copyright, UNESCO)The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is celebrated on 23 August of every year. The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade in the memory of all peoples.

Source: UNESCO


Selected learning materials

Study Guide on Slavery and Forced Labour
A quick introduction on slavery, the slave trade, trafficking and modern-day slavery.

Breaking the Silence: Learning About the Translantic Slave Trade (Anti-Slavery International)
This site aims to help teachers and educators to Break the Silence that continues to surround the story of the enslavement of Africa that began over 500 years ago. It is designed to provide teachers with a variety of resources and ideas about how to teach the subject holistically, accurately and truthfully. It aims to represent the voices that are not usually heard.

Freedom From Slavery (Amnesty International-USA)
This lesson plan provides teachers with a guide detailing how to educate their students about contemporary forms of slavery around the world. Through this lesson students will compare and contrast historical and present day images of slavery as well as produce art-work to inform and incite action to prevent modern day slavery.

Anti-Slavery Fact Sheets (Anti-Slavery International)
This is a series of useful lesson resources on various topics related to modern-day slavery. The two-pagers on "Bonded Labour" and "Slavery from the past..." can be used by teachers as illustrative materials in civic education, history or other social science classrooms.


Useful links

Slave Trade Archives Project

Virtual Visit to Gorée's 'House of Slaves'

World Conference Against Racism

International and regional documents on slavery, the slave trade and modern day slavery:
- Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956)
- Slavery Convention (1927)
- Protocol amending the Slavery Convention signed at Geneva on 25 September 1926


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