Places of Memory for the Slave Route in the Caribbean

In May 2006, 25 experts and officials from Aruba, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti met to discuss how best to advance work on memory and research for slavery-related heritage in the Caribbean. The meeting served as the occasion to launch the pilot project, “Places of Memory for the Slave Route in the Caribbean,” an endeavour inspired by the activities of the Slave Route Project.

The initiative has been created in accordance with the New Strategy of UNESCO’s Slave Route Project, adopted in February 2006, which seeks to increase the visibility of tangible and intangible heritage related to slave trade that is enriched by the cultural uniqueness of the Caribbean region. It centres upon the notion of “Memory” by linking the present as well as the past. Yet, its scope goes beyond a purely historical dimension to address today’s core issues for slavery-related heritage: cultural diversity, dialogue, development, and intangible and tangible heritage.

It was fitting then, that the May 2006 conference organised in Havana by the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean, (in partnership with the UNESCO’s “Slave Route” Project) served as an ocassion to launch the pilot phase of the project “Places of Memory for the Slave Route in the Caribbean.” This conference also enabled specialists to further define the methodological criteria on how to inventory places of memory in the Caribbean (Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Aruba). These criteria were developed for the implementation of long-term objectives

The objectives and methodological tools defined during the Havana conference are intended to encourage long-term management of heritage and historical activities in the region.

The first phase for 2006/7 is to:

• List places of memory
• Sensitize local authorities to the importance of safeguarding sites and the nomination of selected sites for inscription on the World Heritage list
• Evaluate the conditions necessary for the promotion of selected sites
• Oversee the preservation of archives
• Collect oral traditions, within the scope of activities to safeguard intangible heritage
• Establish a working structure for co-operative efforts between researchers the civil society in the Caribbean

Practical information:

The forms below have been made available online as a source of information. Form One is the current UNESCO form; Form Two is the amended document as it was presented during the Havana conference. In order for a site’s nomination to be considered, it is imperative that all measures to obtain the label “Place of Memory” be carried out by the National Commission concerned.

For more information:

• Sitios de Memoria de "La Ruta del Esclavo" en el Caribe Latino (in Spanish)