Focus on the 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the Former British Empire

2007 has marked 200 years since the UK Parliament passed the 1807 Bill to abolish the slave trade in the former British Empire. Throughout 2007 a number of initiatives and activities has been organized in various Commonwealth States whose history is related to this event in order to raise awareness on the history of the slave trade, its effects, and the existence of contemporary forms of slavery. The following activities have been planned in close cooperation with the Slave Route Project :

Drama and Exhibition "Turning the Tables": London and the Slavery Legacy
In close cooperation with the Museum of London, Iziko Museums (South Africa) and the Barbados Museum and the Historical Society Bridgetown, the London Museum in Docklands has produced a traveling exhibition composed of museum objects associated with abolitionists Buxton, Wilberforce, Macaulay and Lushington. The exhibition has been accompanied by a play by the leading playwright, John Matshikiza, on the Abolition of Slavery and Contemporary themes of Human Rights and Freedom

Liverpool - Establishment of the National Museum and the Centre for the Understanding of Transatlantic Slavery
On August 23rd 2007, in recognition of the UNESCO International Day to Commemorate the Abolition of Slavery and its Abolition, National Museums Liverpool has inaugurated the International Slavery Museum in commemoration of the Bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade. a later phase (projected for 2008) it will establish a National Museum Centre for the Understanding of Transatlantic Slavery which will provide new comprehensive display galleries and incorporate a public-oriented resource and activity centre and academic research institute. The Centre will be an integral part of the visitor experience to the Museum of Slavery. Both the museum and the resource centre will share premises with the Merseyside Maritime Museum at Liverpool’s Albert Dock, a UNESCO world heritage site.