On Friday 19 October 2007 young people from Ghana made history when they debated the abolition of the Slave Trade Act and its modern-day legacies with parliamentarians in the House of Commons.
At the invitation of former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, more than fifty young people between the ages of 15-18 from across sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, United States of America and the UK explored the shared legacies of the slave trade and its contemporary manifestations.
As part of the British Council’s flagship Africa 2007 programme, the British Council Slavery Youth Debate in Westminster examined the impact of the slave trade in the 21st century, two hundred years after the abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The debate considered how a greater understanding of the issue can contribute to the eradication of modern-day forms of slavery such as human trafficking, sex slave trade and the recruitment of child soldiers.
The theme of the debate was the transatlantic slave trade and its legacy as seen through the eyes of young people from Africa, the Caribbean and the UK. Guests included John Prescott MP, Chair of the British Council, Lord Kinnock, Speaker of the House, Michael Martin, Deputy Speaker of the House, Sylvia Heal, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Universities and Skills, David Lammy MP and the Paramount Chiefof Elmina, Nana Kwadwo Condua VI.
The Paramount Chief also made history as it is the first time a chief has set foot on UK soil for more than a century when he lifted a 134 year-old ban on flying the Union Jack in the Elmina community to commemorate the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act at a British Council Reflections occasion in Elmina Castle on 25 March, 2007.
On
