Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade: ASPnet students connect in a UN videoconference
Students of UNESCO Associated Schools (ASPnet) connected to each other in a videoconference on 26 March 2010 on the occasion of the International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Organized by the UN Department of Public Information at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the event brought together about 500 high school students at United Nations Headquarters in New York with others participating by videoconference from 7 countries in Africa, Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
Under the theme “Expressing Our Freedom Through Culture”, each participating school prepared a presentation including songs, dances, poems and readings. They focused on the impact of the slave trade on the culture of enslaved Africans and how it influenced the culture of the countries they lived in once they were freed.
School-based activities on the remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition have been initiated in ASPnet schools around the world through the ASPnet Transatlantic Slave Trade (TST) Education Project, launched in 1998.
The entire event was webcast on 26 March. Students from around the world were able to participate “live” by sending comments and questions using a form posted on the home page of the UN Cyberschoolbus during the videoconference.
Related links:
The videoconference [RealPlayer, 2 h 56 min]
More information on the video conference on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, including a study guide
ASPnet Transatlantic Slave Trade (TST) Education Project
UNESCO Associated Schools network (ASPnet)