A pilot project consisting of making an inventory of materials on slave trade, slavery, indenture, and other forms of unfree labour in the Southwest Indian Ocean, was launched this afternoon at the Intercontinental Slavery Museum (ISM) in Port-Louis.
The Chairperson of ISM, Mr Jean Maxy Simonet and the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Mauritius (UOM), Professor Sanjeev Sobhee, were present on the occasion. A Joint ISM/SLAFNET/UoM workshop focusing on the theme ‘Towards an Intercontinental Slave Trade and Slavery Database for Mauritius and the region’, was held after the launching ceremony.
In his address, the Chairperson of ISM dwelt on the history of the Ex-Military Hospital and how the site was eventually restored to house and international museum. The site not only has a rich cultural importance, but is today a cultural hub, he affirmed.
Along with the key endeavour of spearheading research on the topic of slavery, the Chairperson underlined ISM’s aim to embark on a more ambitious project of a database on slave trade and slavery.
He reaffirmed ISM’s intent to promote research and pointed out that the Slavery in Africa Network (SLAFNET) Inventory project has enabled the involved participants to develop precious skills which he said will be useful in the future.
Moreover, he underlined that the initiative will enhance the visibility of ISM and promote its contribution on the international scene.
As for Professor Sanjeev Sobhee, he underpinned the necessity to showcase the history of slavery to the Mauritian public and on the international scene. According to him, it is equally important to pay tribute to our enslaved ancestors and recognise their major contribution in laying the foundation of the socioeconomic growth of the country.
In addition, he reiterated UOM’s intent to provide technical expertise and support to initiatives geared towards promoting the country’s culture and the society’s progress.
SLAFNET
The pilot project emanates from the Slavery in Africa Network (SLAFNET) initiated by Dr Marie-Pierre Ballarin and is funded by the European Commission. The long-term aim is to create a website and database to make accessible materials on slave trade, slavery and other forms of unfree labour that exist on the Southwest Indian Ocean.
Researchers from several countries followed a training in metadata input using the Dublin Core format in Mauritius and attended workshops at Nantes University on mapping ship voyages and another training on using the Omeka software. The materials are organised according to country and consist of inventories of materials as well as a selection of the materials. Samples of copies of archival documents, photos of historical sites, publications, maps, and oral data are included.
