March 2007 was the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. To mark this important event in our history, the Mona campus of the UWI will devote its Academic Conference 2007 to an examination of the meaning of this even for us and for humanity.

The Mona Academic Conference 2007 will take place from Friday, August 31 to Sunday, September 2 under the theme “Freedom: Retrospective and Prospective.” The Conference officially begins with an Opening Ceremony on Friday, August 31 at 6:00 pm at the Undercroft, UWI Mona. The event continues over two days with presentations and discussions from presenters including: Dr. Geri Augusto, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Dr. Ruth Simmons, President both of Brown University, USA, Professor Hilary Beckles, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal, UWI, Cave Hill, Professor Maureen Warner-Lewis, Professor Emerita, UWI, Mona and Professor Verene Shepherd, Professor of History at UWI, Mona . Areas of focus during the Conference include: Memorializing the slave trade and slavery, Reparation, Education, freedom and development and Gender, freedom and development.

For further information on the Conference interested persons may visit the conference website at http://www.mona.uwi.edu/conferences/2007/monaconf/.