The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is one of the most unforgettable chapters of the history of the African continent. It is remembrance of this dark chapter of human history that UNESCO dedicated the year 2004 as "the International Year for the Commemoration of the Fight against Slavery and its Abolition". However, beyond punctual commemorations, we must underline the necessity of establishing networks, structures and mechanisms in order to better inform the public and also reinforce the preservation and the promotion of the different sites marked by the slave trade.

It is in this light that the Regional Unit for Culture at UNESCO organised on Wednesday December 29, 2004, at the Regional Headquarters of UNESCO in Dakar, a ceremony marking the launching of the Network of Memorial Sites of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Africa. The ceremony that was held under the auspices of Mme Lalla Aïcha Ben Barka, Director of UNESCO BREDA, represented by Mr. Bhuwanee Teeluck of UNESCO BREDA, brought together eminent members of the intellectual community in Senegal, researchers, historians as well as members of the national and international media.

According to Mrs. Nilda Anglarill, Regional Advisor for Culture at UNESCO, the network is "purposed to be a forum of exchange between citizens, researchers, managers and visitors of various sites marked by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade". She also added that "though many African sites played major or even decisive roles in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, few among them have acquired the fame of symbolic cities such as Goree, Ouidah, El Mina or Saint James".

Let us recall that areas in Africa marked by the slave trade range from Saint Louis in Senegal to the coasts of Madagascar, in between we also find the Fort of Saint James in the Gambia, the Grain Coast (Liberia), the Ivory Coast, the Gold Coast, the Coast of Slaves (Abomey, Benin), the Congo Coast (RDC) and the Coast of Angole (Angola).

The implementation of the project will be assured by the Coordinating Expert, Mr. Hamady Bocoum, under the supervision of Mrs. Nilda Anglarill, Regional Advisor for Culture at UNESCO.