Museums are among the public spaces where national narratives on the great moments of history and on the contributions of peoples to the cultural, social and political development of humanity are elaborated, confronted and imposed. The enslavement and mass deportation of tens of millions of Africans in the different continents are major historical facts that are at the foundation of our modern world. Paradoxically, this human tragedy, now recognised as a Crime against Humanity by the United Nations, is neither sufficiently nor adequately told by museums of countries shaped by this history.

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At a time when the very mission of museums, their approaches and their methodologies are increasingly being questioned and challenged, the interpretation and representation of slavery in these places is therefore part of the global debate on their re-foundation. It is in this context of redefining the role of museums that this symposium takes place. The aim of this international symposium is to analyse museographic experiences and practices on slavery and to identify new approaches and methodologies that could meet the expectations of different audiences.

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The symposium will bring together museum and heritage professionals, managers of sites and places of memory, researchers, experts in digital and multimedia technologies, educators and creators from different regions of the world to discuss the stakes and challenges of reconciling the narratives of this tragic history and memory.