Influential stakeholders were brought together by Ministers to create an Advisory Group, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, to discuss how best they could maximise their organisations' contributions to the bicentenary.  

The Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy and Paul Goggins stressed that it was not a national organising committee, but a sounding-board for wider discussions on expectations and opportunities.

The Advisory Group on the Bicentenary will galvanise action across the cultural, faith and community sectors to ensure that 2007 makes an impact across the country and that the bicentenary is relevant to local communities. The Group, which includes a broad range of faith, community, city and cultural representatives, is expected to meet regularly in the run up to 2007.

Speaking almost 200 years after William Wilberforce - one of his predecessors as MP for Hull - led the campaign to change the law and abolish slavery in the British Empire, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said:

"William Wilberforce's achievement and the suffering of so many must be remembered in 2007. This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the struggles of the past, the progress we have made and also the challenges that remain.

"Today is just the beginning of what will be a fitting commemoration in cities and towns across the country on this momentous occasion." 

Race Equality Minister, Paul Goggins said:

"This first meeting of the Advisory Group is an important step in determining how people across the country will commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the former British Empire, setting out how to raise awareness of the events of 1807, particularly to young people.

"I believe it is vital that events should involve people from all our diverse cultures and communities. As with all aspects of cohesion and  increasing race equality, the Government can only hope to bring about change with the support of the communities themselves.

"I hope that together we can make 2007 have a real impact on people from communities all over Britain."

Culture Minister, David Lammy said:
 
"I am particularly pleased to see that the cultural sector is providing such a strong lead in this area. In Liverpool, Hull, Bristol and London, plans are already well advanced to make 2007 a success. The  Heritage Lottery Fund has already committed over £16 million towards exciting and innovative projects to make the bicentenary relevant to people today.

"I want to make sure that in 2007 we pay tribute to all those who had a stake in the abolition – the victims of the slave trade, the ordinary people who campaigned for change, and the abolitionists themselves. I particularly want to ensure that we recognise those black abolitionists such as Olaudah Equiano who deserve such a prominent place in history and I am glad that a major exhibition of his life and times is being planned in Birmingham in 2007."

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Notes to Editors

1.   Background

25 March 2007 will mark 200 years to the day that a Parliamentary Bill was passed to abolish the slave trade in the former British Empire. 1807 marks the beginning of the long road to the eventual abolition of slavery itself within the former British Empire via the Act of 1833. Even then slaves did not gain their final freedom until 1838. Although slavery was finally abolished in the Americas in 1888, it is estimated that over 20 million people are still in forms of servitude today.

2.   Advisory Group Membership

Those groups represented at the meeting included: the Commission for Racial Equality, the cities of Bristol and Hull, National Museums Liverpool, National Maritime Museum, Museum of London, Churches Together in England, Heritage Lottery Fund, media representatives, the Church of England, Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International and other faith and community representatives, academics and writers. A full list of names is listed below.

3.   Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund has already announced awards of over £16 million for projects in relation to the 2007 bicentenary. The Heritage Lottery Fund is encouraging community-based organisations and others to apply for funding inspired by the bicentenary. It is keen to fund projects that add to the collective understanding of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and its impact on national heritage. It has recently produced a guide for those wanting to bid, called Remembering Slavery in 2007. The straightforward guide contains advice on project ideas, examples of possible projects and details on how to make a successful funding application.
Contact: Katie Owen on 020 7591 6036

4.   Understanding Slavery Initiative

The National Maritime Museum, National Museums Liverpool, Bristol Museums and Art Gallery, British Empire and Commonwealth Museum and Hull City Museums and Art Gallery have collaborated to produce materials for schools about the trans-Atlantic slave trade to support the teaching of history and citizenship, and teacher training. Jointly funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and DfES under the Strategic Commissioning initiative, the project will have received a total of £750,000.
website: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/freedom/

5.   Liverpool

The National Maritime Museum Liverpool will open a new gallery in 2007, known as the National Museum and Centre for the Understanding of Trans-Atlantic Slavery. In the design of the displays and through focussed outreach, the Museum will target new visitors, particularly from under-represented and ethnic minority groups. Funding for the museum comes largely from the Heritage Lottery Fund, supported by £250,000 from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport per year to help meet the new Museum's running costs.

Contact: National Museums Liverpool on 0151 478 4612

6.   Hull

A full programme of events are being planned under the name Wilberforce 2007, led by the City Council and including the Wilberforce House Museum, the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation and the University of Hull. The HLF have awarded a grant for Hull Museums & Art Gallery of £800,500 to redevelop and update their slavery and abolition collections. Possible events include: conferences, concerts, sporting events, lectures, and the refurbishment of Wilberforce House. An International Conference on Slavery is planned in Hull in May 2007 (supported by Bristol and Liverpool). 

Contact: Mitch Upfold on 01482 300300

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7.   Birmingham

Having received around £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery will put on a major national exhibition on the life and times of Olaudah Equiano, a former slave and prominent campaigner for the abolition of slavery in the 18th century. This will include a large-scale exhibition, a smaller touring exhibition and education officers to reach out to schools.

Contact: 0121 303 4514

8.   Bristol

The Museum of Bristol has been awarded £10 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund to refurbish the museum, which will include the story of Bristol's involvement in the slave trade. The city-wide programme of work is being led by the City Council.

Contact: Paul Barnett or Asif Khan: 0117 922 2000

9.    The Museum of London

The Museum intends to play its part in unmasking London as a slave city, developing community partnerships and encouraging new audiences to get involved in researching and interpreting their heritage. The Museum in Docklands are planning to develop international links with Cuba, the West Indies and Africa as part of the planned exhibition.

10.   The National Maritime Museum

The museum has been at the centre of the creation of the Understanding Slavery Initiative (above) and will take a key role in the events of 2007.

11.   Victoria & Albert Museum

The V&A will be will be holding a two-day conference in February 2007 From Cane Field to Tea-Cup: The Impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on Art, to commemorate the 1807 anniversary. The conference will look at the links between the trade, slaves and slavery and the production and collection of domestic and decorative artefacts, including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, sculpture, architecture, prints and paintings.

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12.   'Set all Free' Churches Together in England

Set all Free is a wide-ranging project to remember the past and apply its lessons to tackle the legacies of trans-Atlantic slavery and its modern day equivalent. Set all Free has been set up by Churches Together in England as a collaboration between those who are happy to work with a Christian ethos on the relevance of the bicentenary. Their website provides a range of information on educational resources, what's on, links and contact details.

Contact: Kate Yates (020) 7529 8141
www.setallfree.net

13.   Membership of 2007 Bicentenary Advisory Group: