Several activities were launched, yesterday morning, at the Intercontinental Slavery Museum (ISM), Ex-Military Hospital in Port Louis, as part of the SLAFNET project in Mauritius. The activities comprised an exhibition on the archaeology of the Moulin à Poudre, an exchange on Origins and Identity, and a videoconferencing on The question of Origins: Genealogy, Family & Identities.
A booklet entitled The Empirical Life of Joseph-Francois Charpentier de Cossigny, and a website on Family Origins were also launched.
The Chancellor of the University of Mauritius (UoM), Dr Jean Claude Autrey; the Board Director and Chairperson of the ISM Research Committee, Dr Jimmy Harmon; the Chairperson of the Mauritius Museum Council (MMC), Mr Somduth Dalthumun; and the SLAFNET Principal Researcher, Dr Vijaya Teelock, were present.
In his address, Dr Autrey stated that these activities form part of the collaboration between the UOM, the ISM and the MMC. The objective, he said, is to valorise the national heritage of the country, encourage more research, and implement the SLAFNET project.
For his part, Dr Harmon underlined that these activities are in line with the objective of the ISM to raise awareness on the legacies of slavery and the slave trade, and promote the African diaspora. He highlighted the importance of research and documentation on the Mauritian history adding that the Research and Documentation Centre will serve to this purpose.
Mr Dalthumun congratulated the researchers who are doing a laudable job in bringing knowledge to the public. He expressed satisfaction to the fact that the MMC has been a part of this collaboration and has been able to provide some artefacts for the exhibition.
The SLAFNET project
The overall objective of the project is to establish a top-level scientific network of several institutions and research groups from Europe and Africa on the field of slavery studies. It aims at focusing mutual efforts of 13 partners with extended and complementary competences in their respective research fields and at gathering multidisciplinary expertise in slavery-related issues by encouraging the exchange of young and senior researchers from both continents.
Funded by the European Commission, it brings together a multidisciplinary team of some 50 researchers in a consortium of 13 partners from the North and South. For three years, SLAFNET will promote synergy between European and African teams on the social dynamics resulting from the abolition of slavery until the present.
