Meeting of the International Scientific Committee of the Slave Route Project

This 9th meeting of the Committee took place on 17 and 18 February at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Committee members reviewed the many activities which had taken place in 2007 and 2008 and devoted most of their time to the discussion of a new strategy for the Slave Route Project, to be presented at the Executive Board in April. Professor Michael Gomez was elected to the chairmanship of the Committee. He is on the History faculty of New York University where he specializes in the African diaspora and Islam in West Africa.

The Slave Route Project, launched in 1994, has three objectives, namely to:

• contribute to a better understanding of the causes, forms of operation, issues and consequences of slavery in the world (Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, Middle East and Asia);
• highlight the global transformations and cultural interactions that have resulted from this history; and
• contribute to a culture of peace by promoting reflection on cultural pluralism, intercultural dialogue and the construction of new identities and citizenships.