The United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2011 as International Year for People of African Descent (in UN resolution A/RES/64/169).[1] That year also marked the 10th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism (also known as the Durban Conference),[2] which approved a resolution stating that slavery along with the colonization that sustained it were crimes against humanity.[3]
The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights coordinated activities surrounding the Year, and encouraged other parties, both UN agencies as well as member states, to carry out similar initiatives.[4][2] These included:[5]
- February: Islands as Crossroads: Sustaining Cultural Diversity in Small Island Developing States (publication)[6]
- February 4–24: Exhibition on Arts and Poetry by artist Hilda Zagaglia, Alta Garcia, Argentina
- February 28–March 3: Meeting of the International Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Slave Route Project, Bogota
- March 21–23: SEPHIS Workshop "Equity, Justice, Development: People of African Descent in Latin America in comparative Perspective", University of Cartagena, Colombia[7]
- April: Launching of the international Year for People of African Descent in Brazil, UNESCO Brasilia
- May 4–11: Black International Cinema Festival, Fountainhead Tanz Theatre, Berlin, Germany
- May 10: Commemorating the Slave Trade and Slavery as a Crime against Humanity, France
- June 6–12: Afro-Brazilian Arts and Cultural Heritage Festival, Washington DC, United States of America[8]
- July 4–15: Harriet Tubman Student Summer Programme on "Introduction to African and African Diaspora Studies", York University, Toronto, Canada
- August 11–13: Pan-African Women's Action Summit, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
- August 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
- Angola: Conference "Escravos angolanos povoaram tambem as Antilhas Neerlandesas" ("Angolan slaves also populated the Netherlands Antilles"), organized by the Eduardo dos Santos Foundation, at the Agostinho Neto University in Luanda
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Workshop on achievements of the Slave Route Project in the DRC, with presentation of The Slave Trade, Slavery and Colonial Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (published 2010)
- Ghana: Workshop on the slave trade for educators from three regions of the world, Accra[9]
- Grenada: exhibition and commemorative activities organized by National Commission for UNESCO and the National Museum of Grenada, St. George's
- Madagascar: screening of the documentary Slave Routes: A Global Vision, at the University of Antananarivo
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: launch of the activities of the national committee for the Slave Route Project[10]
- Senegal: Panel discussion, painting and photo exhibition, cultural and artistic activities at the Joseph Ndiaye Socio-cultural Centre, Gorée[11]
- UK: Commemoration at the National Maritime Museum, London
- September 22–24: 7th International African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference, World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- October: Boscoe Holder exhibition at the Upper Room Art Gallery at Top of the Mount, Mount Saint Benedict, St Augustine, Trinidad[12]
- October 20: Panel discussion "The Causes and Consequences of Racism", Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, US[13]
- October 29: Celebration of the International Year for People of African Descent and Promotion of the General History of Africa, UNESCO, Paris
- November 2 (–June 24, 2012): Itinerant photographic exhibition: "Women in Africa - No Color One Color", Italian Institute of Culture, Nairobi, Kenya; Sheraton Hotel, Milan Malpensa Airport, Italy; and other venues[14]
- November 9: Celebration – International Year for People of African Descent; Africa, Mère de tous les peuples. Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. On the occasion of the International Year for People of African Descent.[15]
- Brazil-Africa: Crossed Histories Programme in the 36th UNESCO General Conference
"Calendar of events", 2011 International Year for People of African Descent, United Nations Human Rights.