SchertoGill Uncategorized

UNESCO Webinar Series: Opening Session 3rd APRIL 2023 16.00 Paris Time / 15.00 London Time

The UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project and the Global Humanity for Peace Institute, University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD), are jointly hosting an exciting international webinar series entitled: New Perspectives on Healing, Justice and Well-Being.

In this opening session to be held on Monday 3rd April on Zoom, Mrs Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, will be joined by Professor Medwin Hughes, the Vice Chancellor of UWTSD, to introduce the series.

The keynote speaker for this session is Zeinab Badawi, the award-winning international TV and Radio journalist who has worked on a major 20-part TV series on the History of Africa.

Following the keynote presentation, Mrs Gabriela Ramos and Ms Zeinab Badawi will dialogue about UNESCO’s Routes of Enslaved Peoples project and the significance of learning from the history of Africa, including exploring the importance of giving voice to people of African descent, and valorising their culture and contributions to modern societies.

There will be simultaneous translation in English, French, and Spanish.

REGISTER HERE

Keynote Speaker: Zeinab Badawi

Zeinab is an award-winning international TV and radio journalist. She produced and presented a major 20-part TV series on the History of Africa through her own production company for BBC World News.  She is currently writing a book on the History of Africa. 

Zeinab Badawi a BA Hons in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and a post-graduate degree in history (awarded with a distinction) from SOAS, London University. She has worked extensively in the British media for four decades, and is best known for her work in the BBC’s international division at BBC World News TV and BBC World Service Radio on programmes such as ‘Hard Talk’, and ‘Global Questions’.

Zeinab is President of SOAS, London University, a member of the International Advisory Boards of think-tanks Afro-Barometer and the Mandela Institute for Development Studies,  a member of the high-level panel of the Africa Europe Foundation, a board member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a council member of the Arts, Humanities and Research Council of UKRI,  a director of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Royal Opera House and Hampstead Theatre in London, and she is a member of Italy’s annual Venice Seminar.    

Zeinab was a member of the Rhodes Commission (2021) on the future of the statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College, Oxford.  She has previously served on the boards of the British Council, BBC Media Action, the National Portrait Gallery, the Institute for Historical Research, the Overseas Development Institute and has been Chair of the Royal African Society and Article 19, the freedom of speech advocacy organisation.  She was also on the advisory board of the Foreign Policy Centre.  

Zeinab has received many media awards as well as honorary doctorates from SOAS, London University, York University, and the University of the Arts London; and she is an honorary fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford University.  Other awards include the President’s Medal of the British Academy for her services to broadcasting and education, the UN Association-UK Sir Brian Urquhart award for distinguished service to broadcasting, education and the UN, and International TV Personality of the Year awarded by the Association of International Broadcasters. 

GHFP Uncategorized

Panel Dialogue: “Owning Slavery, Pursuing Justice, Seeking Reconciliation: Lessons from Georgetown and the U.S. Jesuits”

This is a panel dialogue that took place online on April 29, 2021. The background is that in 1838, the Jesuits sold 272 enslaved people, including men, women and children. This was the largest single sale of enslaved people in human history. Some of the proceeds were used to support the development of Georgetown University.

In 2015, Georgetown President John J. DeGioia established a Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, which led to dialogue with and apology to Descendants and key efforts to address the legacy of slavery and overcome racism at Georgetown, in Washington, and beyond. On March 15 of this year, U.S. Jesuits and descendant leaders announced the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, which will support the educational aspirations of Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding and racial healing efforts in the United States.

At a time of national reckoning on racism and dialogue on how to pursue justice, this Initiative Dialogue explored personal, religious, and institutional responsibilities for the legacy of slavery and the reality of structural racism. The dialogue around institutional responses to enslavement has raised important questions, offered new possibilities for collaboration, and new paths forward for our nation and the U.S. Catholic Church.

SchertoGill Uncategorized

2nd Int’l Symposium: Collective Healing of Traumas: New Possibilities for Peace in Communities Sept 2019

Collective and community initiatives can empower those suffering from the wounds of a violent past to collaborate towards mutual healing, thus creating new possibilities for peace. To better understand the significance of these community-rooted collective healing endeavours, the GHFP and the UNESCO Slave Route Project hosted a one-day International Symposium, at the Royal Society for the Arts in London. The event brought together practitioners and scholars who have experiences and expertise in the field of communal and collective healing of mass traumas, for an intimate dialogue focused around three core questions:
  1. What are the typical psychological and social symptoms encountered in communities resulting from the experience and legacies of past atrocities?
  2. What might constitute collective healing in these situations? 
  3. How do community-based processes and practices contribute to collective healing? (And how would the community evaluate collective healing? What are the relevant indicators that some healing has taken place?)
Presentations included the Australia’s journey of healing through the Sorry Day marches, the Healing the Wounds of History programme in Lebanon, Foresee Research Group’s restorative healing approaches in Hungary, critical reflection on the structural conditions of healing from the perspectives of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation, the Initiatives of Change International’s Trustbuilding in the communities programme, and the Peace Charter of Forgiveness and Reconciliation.    Read here the Collective_Healing_of_Trauma_Concept_Note.  Please return soon for updates on the Symposium’s participants, their bios, and presentations, and conclusions.
SchertoGill Uncategorized

Overcoming structural racism requires more of people, but also healing

Louis Menand writes in New Yorker February 4th 2019 issue:

“institutional racism” or “structural racism”—is much harder to address. It requires more of people than just striking down a law.

Read the full article entitled: “The Supreme Court Case That Enshrined White Supremacy in Law How Plessy v. Ferguson shaped the history of racial discrimination in America.”

SchertoGill Uncategorized

UNGA: Commemorating the abolition of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade

General Assembly 73rd Session: 38th Plenary Meeting, 21 Nov 2018
Commemoration of the abolition of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Speakers Call for Greater Awareness‑Raising about Dangers of Racism, Prejudice, as General Assembly Reviews Education Programme on Transatlantic Slave Trade – Agenda Item 121.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/watch/general-assembly-73rd-session-38th-plenary-meeting/5970052087001/?term=

GHFP Uncategorized

UNESCO Healing the Wounds of Slavery Symposium: Questions discussed

On October 18th and 19th, twenty-eight renowned caring and inspirational experts from multi-disciplinary backgrounds met at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for days of deep sharing, exchange and dialogue around the topic of “Healing the Wounds of Slavery”. The symposium included four observers.

At the Opening Session, Prof Thomas Banchoff, Georgetown’s Vice President for Global Engagement, welcomed the international experts to the Berkley Center where he previously served as the founding director. Prof Banchoff shared Georgetown’s recognition of this important UNESCO initiative, and expressed his good will for the outcome of the Symposium.

The participants and contributors discussed the following questions:

  1. What are the historical contexts, foundations and underpinnings of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery?
  2. What lessons can we learn from these and other dehumanizing tragedies in world history?
  3. What are the latest research findings on the psycho-social consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery?
  4. How do the different approaches, experiences and processes contribute to the healing the wounds left by such historical traumas?
  5. What would be the necessary approaches to healing the wounds of transatlantic slave trade and slavery?
  6. What would be the appropriate strategies to communicate and inform the public for a better understanding of the challenges to the overcoming of these legacies?
  7. Who are the key stakeholders and partners to associate with the healing
    processes and dialogues?

At the concluding session of the Symposium, a number of proposals were made and the group are working to identify strategic steps forward.

Symposium event photography is now available to share, thank you.