UNESCO : International competition for designing the Permanent Memorial in honour of the victims of slavery

Permanent Memorial Committee and UNESCO are pleased to invite proposals for an appropriate memorial on the following theme: Acknowledging the Tragedy; Considering the Legacy; Lest We Forget.
Pursuant to relevant United Nations Resolutions, this permanent memorial will recognize the tragedy of slavery and draw attention to the lingering consequences of the centuries-long trade and enslavement of Africans supplied to the colonies of the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. The legacy of hatred, bigotry, racism, and xenophobia are still evident today, closely linked to persistent economic and social inequalities in many parts of the world.
The competition will culminate in the selection of an outstanding design that will embody the legacy of millions of African captives whose untold stories, memories, and contribution to humanity changed the world forever. The Memorial will also aim to strengthen the promotion of greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage and cultures of the African Diaspora. Aesthetically, the memorial is intended to complement the landscape of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

UNESCO therefore invites artists, designers, sculptors, architects and other visual arts professionals from all over the world to take part in this global effort to commemorate the history and contributions of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. The deadline for the submission of design proposals to UNESCO is December 19, 2011.

The international design competition will be conducted in two phases. Phase I will be undertaken by the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. Following a global launch of the competition, design applications will be collected by UNESCO and a shortlist of 16 designs will go forward to the next phase. All initial expressions of interest will be reviewed by an appropriate mechanism established by UNESCO in collaboration with the Permanent Memorial Committee; and a short list of 16 entries will be forwarded to the committee in New York to be assessed by an independent, international panel of judges. Phase II will be devoted to a further shortlist by the panel of judges and the selection of a winner of the competition. The Judges will review the 16 applications received from UNESCO and make an even shorter list of seven (7) finalists to be subject to an interview process. The interview process will serve to provide the judges with an insight into the artist's vision and interpretation of the design, and a final selection will be made by a simple majority vote by members of the panel of judges. This will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
It is particularly important that the selection of artists be a transparent and politically impartial process, that is also geographically, historically, artistically, and professionally sound.

For further information:
Permanent Memorial at the United Nations in honour of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

Publication: 18/10/2011