The statutory meeting of the International Scientific Committee for the Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage will be held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), from 18 to 20 November 2013. This meeting, organized within the framework of the national celebration of the "National Day of Black Consciousness", is funded by the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro.
The Committee boasts several prominent personalities: Ms Michaëlle Jean (Haiti / Canada), former General Governor of Canada (2005-2010) and UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti; Professor Henry Louis Gates (United States), Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University; Didier Awadi (Senegal), internationally renowned artist and founder of the Positive Black Soul group.

On this occasion, the activities proposed in conjunction with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Slave Route Project and the launching of the Decade for People of African Descent (2013-2022) will be presented, as well as innovative initiatives to support the project. On 20 November 2013, the ceremony of the " National Day of Black Consciousness” and the unveiling of the commemorative plaque of Quay Valongo, jetty for slaves in the nineteenth century in Rio de Janeiro, will take place.