UNESCO Day for Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Abolition

Our 2022 keynote speaker is Professor Verene Shepherd

• Has lectured at Universities in Africa, Australia, Canada (where she was a Network Scholar at York University), the wider Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, The UK and The USA on a wide range of issues, including conquest, colonization, chattel slavery and resistance, women’s History, reparation, human rights and decolonial justice. 

• Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Society and Hon. Fellow, Jesus College, Cambridge, and Chair of the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The oldest Treaty Body in the UN System, that implements the International Convention on the elimination of Racial Discrimination.

• Professor Shepherd is also the first Jamaican/CARICOM Citizen and the first Black Woman of African Descent in the African Diaspora to chair this Committee in its over 50 years.

Our host for 2022 is Eddie Nestor MBE

• Extremely versatile, talented actor, broadcaster, comedian and MC. Hosts one of London’s biggest news shows for the BBC, winning numerous awards for his Drivetime show, including the coveted Speech Broadcaster of the year at the Sony Radio awards.

• Eddie regularly takes part in panel discussions and gives motivational speeches for a variety of corporations, voluntary organisations & charities, running in the London marathon in support of the ACLT and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

• Supports numerous charities, including Rudolph Walker Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support & Urban Synergy. Raised money for Diabetes UK and awareness for Prostate UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and many more.

Poetry provided by Ragz-CV

• A spoken word artist from South London, originally from Brixton, is of mixed-race heritage (Jamaican and Irish) and is the Poetic Unity founder, using poetry as a tool for positive social change, by providing marginalised young people with a voice.

• Since it’s inception, 1000’s of young people have taken part in programmes which have helped improve their confidence, self-esteem and overall mental well-being. Ragz, as seen on MTV, BBC Radio, The Voice, Huffington Post, London Live and Channel 5 to name a few, has been nominated for 11 in the last few years, performing over 300 shows. Testament to becoming a 'Visionary Honours 2022' nominee in the Community Person of the Year category, for his fantastic work with young people in the community.