A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT

The Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery is an institution for today's France. Because knowledge of the past helps us to understand the present. Because the cultures resulting from this history have great value. Because to fight against discrimination, racism and all forms of attacks on human dignity, we must know where they come from.

Twenty years after the Taubira Law of the May the 21th, 2001, the Foundation’s creation extends and amplifies the purpose of that text, which made France the first country to acknowledge slavery and the colonial slave trade as crimes against Humanity. Recognised as a non-profit organization for publuc utility, partnering with numerous public and private actors, and supported by the Administration, the Foundation works to build a fairer and more open national narrative. It values and spotlights the contributions of overseas territories and the populations that have emerged from them, and it recalls how examples drawn from this history continue to inspire the fight for freedom, equality and fraternity today, in France and throughout the world.

The Foundation carries out this mission with modern resources. With its five programmes – Citizenship, Culture, Education, Digital and Research – it is aimed at all audiences. Drawing on the work of academics; working with schools, community groups and non-profits, artists and cultural institutions, the Foundation mobilises all digital resources to share knowledge, celebrate culture and build stronger citizenship.

As an institution, the Foundation wants to be open to society, to all territories, and to all initiatives that contribute to reconciled remembrance for a shared future. If you share in this project, join us. This Foundation is yours, as well.

Because this is OUR history.

Jean-Marc Ayrault