Details:

The James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, in partnership and collaboration with an ensemble of local, national and international organizations, is convening an international Symposium that specifically addresses the needs of People of African Descent scattered throughout the Diaspora.

The Symposium, whose theme is "Racism and the Black World Response", will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada from August 5th to August 12th 2001. This unprecedented gathering will mark the United Nations' 3rd Decade Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance', and it will precede the United Nations' Third World Conference Against Racism (Durban, South Africa, 2001).

A primary goal of the Symposium is to assess the effectiveness of present measures employed by peoples of African Descent to combat oppression, exploitation, discrimination, dislocation and underdevelopment based on race, caste and or nationality.

A series of lectures, panels, workshops and multi-media events will address the historical impact of racism on Black peoples globally. Contemporary challenges such as globalization, impoverishment, the AIDS pandemic, foreign debt, environmental racism, information technology, immigration, the politics of race, state terrorism, compensatory struggles for reparations, land redistribution, employment equity, social justice and community development will be topics of discussion. Youth will be specifically targeted through a skills-building and awareness programme that geared to their role in the struggle against racism.

Complementary components of the Symposium will include cultural events, such as exhibits, poetry readings, film festival, visits to historically Black Nova Scotian communities (Africville, the Prestons, Birchtown, etc.), Round table and Town Hall meetings with the indigenous African Nova Scotian community.

The Symposium will be a unique opportunity to connect with the African Nova Scotian Community and network with diverse and dynamic individuals from Africa, other parts of Canada, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific who are on the front lines, unpacking the discourse and dismantling the structures and mindsets which perpetuate racism.

Halifax Declaration of Principles and Priorities
(Adobe Acrobat Document)

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