On that day artists, researchers, and cultural experts from different parts of the world will take part in four thematic sessions that will focus on the influence the memory of slavery has had on literature, the visual arts, music and dance.

Notable participants include American saxophonist Archie Shepp, French actor and director Jacques Martial, who is also President of the ACTe Memorial in Guadeloupe, Congolese musician Ray Lema, Cameroonian author Leonora Miano and French artist Shuck One.

The event is organized in partnership with the French cultural organization Fait à Cuba, the Vallois gallery of Paris and France’s National Committee for the Memory and History of Slavery.

Also on that occasion, Modern Times, an exhibition of monumental works by 15 contemporary artists from Benin, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic will offer a fresh perspective on the tragic history of relations between Africa and the Caribbean.

The seminar will take place at UNESCO on 4 September in Room IV from 9.30 a.m. to 5.15 p.m. The exhibition will be open to the public from 7 to 11 September. During the opening of the exhibition, 6 p.m. on 4 September in Hall Ségur, there will be a performance of an original work of dance and music about tradition and modernity, Oggun Today. The exhibition will be on show until 11 September.

For media accreditation contact Djibril Kébé, UNESCO Press Service: d.kebe(at)unesco.org, +33 (0) 1 45 68 17 41.

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Media contact: Agnès Bardon, UNESCO Press Service, +33 (0) 1 45 68 17 64, a.bardon(at)unesco.org