UNESCO Day for Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition 2026

Aisha Sanusi is the Co-Founder and CEO of the African Caribbean Education Network (ACEN), a national organisation dedicated to improving equity and racial justice in education and workplaces. Through ACEN, she has led training for over 20,000 students, teachers, and professionals on racial inclusion, antiracism, and cultural competency. 

She also serves as CoChair of Trustees for The Paradigm Project and sits on the Education Advisory Board of the Black Equity Organisation. Aisha is a trustee of a Blackled fund and a London-based Multi Academy Trust, grounding all her work in challenging systemic racism and advancing inclusive systems. 

Arthur Torrington CBE is a Guyanese-born community advocate and cofounder of the Windrush Foundation, established in 1996 to preserve and promote the legacy of African and Caribbean migrants in Britain. The organisation commemorates the arrival of the Empire Windrush and works to foster community relations and historical understanding. 

He was awarded an OBE in 2002 for his Windrush work and a CBE in 2011 for his work publicising Olaudah Equiano's life. In 2018, he received the Windrush Lifetime Service Award from the Guyana High Commission for his longstanding commitment to raising awareness of Windrush contributions. 

Marlene Wylie is a leading creative education consultant and the first Black president of the National Society for Education in Art and Design. Her presidency marked a significant step for equity and representation in art, craft, and design education across the UK. 

She has served as a project lead for Visualise: Race and Inclusion in Secondary Art Education and works widely with national cultural and educational institutions. Marlene is also a Fellow of both the Chartered College of Teaching and the Royal Society of Arts. 

Naomi Tobias is a lifelong Londoner with a BA in African Studies from SOAS and teacher training from the Institute of Education. She spent 25 years teaching Drama, English, and later working extensively with children and young people with profound learning needs. 

Before teaching, Naomi worked in community organisations supporting Black families through culturally relevant childcare and youth programmes. Her passion remains exploring and sharing Black British and diasporic cultures and their impact on life in Britain. 

Natasha is an award-winning international Equalities Designer and researcher whose practice explores extending the frontiers of knowledge around mental difference, non-typical bodyminds, ways of being and marginalised experiences.  

Natasha seeks to reframe mainstream notions of equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion through an intersectional design lens, spanning multi-modal interactions, place-shaping, investigative play, and policy design. 

Onyekachi Wambu is a former newspaper editor and BBC/PBS television producer, currently serving as an Associate, Special Projects at AFFORD. Since the 1990s, he has been a key voice on African cultural heritage and impact of slavery, advocating both nationally and internationally. 

He has presented on these issues at the UN and African Union and coordinates AFFORD’s Return of the Icons Programme. His publications include Empire Windrush (multiple editions) and Under the Tree of Talking, reflecting decades of writing on Africa and its global diaspora. 

Shereen Jasmin Phillips is an awardwinning multidisciplinary creative and senior arts leader of Vincentian heritage. She has served as Creative Director for major projects including Haringey Shed’s 25th Anniversary Xtravaganza and previously led engagement programmes at the Young Vic. 

As a dramaturg and writer, her work includes To Sir, With Love – A New Musical – In Concert, AiTopia, and Love Reign. She is cofounder of Applied Scripted Arc and serves as a trustee for several arts organisations, championing inclusive, community driven creative practice.