ADS 2025, Sub-theme 1 – Documentary Videos
In Focus
Latest updates
- Register to participate in the ADS 2025 International Webinars and Youth Dialogues:
- Sub-theme 1: Learning from the Past: Transatlantic Slave Trade, Colonialism, Extractive Economies and Institutions in Africa webinar on 7 May and Youth Stage on 8 May.
- Sub-theme 2: Understanding the Present: Economic, Social and Cultural Justice for Sustainable Development webinar on 14 May and Youth Stage on 15 May.
- Sub-theme 3: Building the Future: Healing and Reparations towards Socio-Economic Justice for Africans and People of African Descent webinar on 21 May and Youth Stage on 22 May.
Week 1 | Day 1 - 5 May
The Africa Dialogue Series 2025 kicks off. This week, the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the African Union Economic Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) kick off discussions through an interesting line-up of activities and materials around this year's theme. To set the context, this week starts with a series of documentary videos focused on the sub-theme "Transatlantic Slave Trade, Colonialism, Extractive Economies and Institutions in Africa."
UNESCO Presents
Slave Routes: A Global Vision
The film presents the diverse histories and heritages stemming from the global tragedy of the slave trade and slavery. Through the compilation of images, historical narration, and interviews with experts from all the continents, the film shows how African slaves and their descendants, in contrast to incorrect racial theories, helped shape the modern world. The film's main objective is to give a global vision of the different dimensions of this tragedy and raise crucial questions regarding its consequences in modern societies in order to come to terms with this collective memory.
UNFPA Presents
See us, hear us, count us in: Voices from the Decade for People of African Descent
This video celebrates the midterm of the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2014-2025), which advocates for justice, recognition and development to ensure people of African descent can exercise their full human rights.
DGC Africa Section Presents
Gorée Island and the ‘fragility of freedom’
Gorée Island, off the coast of Dakar, is a somber reminder of the transatlantic slave trade. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it embodies both the duty to remember and the challenges of passing on a painful past. But Gorée is not stuck in history; it's an inhabited island, where heritage preservation, daily life and contemporary issues coexist.
Located about 3 kilometers off Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, Gorée is a small island, only reachable by ferry. Its small size belies its large place in history, its importance in the transatlantic slave trade, and its continuing relevance in preserving memory and heritage for the African diaspora worldwide.
DGC Outreach Division Presents
The Ark of Return: a permanent memorial at the United Nations
This five minute video takes us on a virtual tour of the Ark of Return - the permanent memorial at United Nations Headquarters in New York, that acknowledges the horrific tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade, and reminds us of its legacy. The Ark of Return serves as a constant reminder of the courage of the enslaved women, men and children, abolitionists and unsung heroes who helped end the transatlantic slave trade.