
The UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project and the Global Humanity for Peace Institute, University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD), are jointly hosting an exciting international webinar series entitled: New Perspectives on Collective Healing, Social Justice and Well-Being. These webinars are supported by AfroSpectives, and Spirit of Humanity Forum.
For the 4th webinar of the Series, the keynote speakers are Prof Ana Lucia Araujo and Lewis Cardinal. They explored questions such as
- What should be the principles and objectives of reparations following historical atrocities such as enslavement and genocides of people of African and indigenous descent?
- How might reparations be implemented ethically and meaningfully for the descendant communities?
- What are the opportunities and challenges for reparation, restoration and regeneration to contribute to healing, justice and well-being?
Following their keynote presentations, Prof Araujo and Mr Cardinal discussed the optimism and complexity brought forward by the most recent call for global reparation to address the legacies of historical mass atrocities inflicted upon peoples of African and Indigenous descent.
Watch the recording of the webinar through the link below.
Keynote Speakers

Ana Lucia Araujo is a historian and full professor in the Department of History at the historically black Howard University in Washington DC, United States. She specializes in the history and memory of slavery and the Atlantic slave trade and her research interests include the visual and material culture of slavery. She is a member of the International Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Project Routes of Enslaved Peoples (former Slave Route Project) since 2017.
Ana Lucia’s recent awards include a fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, New Jersey), and a Senior Scholar Grant from the Getty Research Institute where she is currently in residence. She is a member of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Scholarly Advisory Board and was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, London, UK. She also serves on the Board of Editors of the American Historical Review, the editorial board of the British journal Slavery and Abolition, and the Editorial Review Board of the African Studies Review.
Ana Lucia’s three recent books are: Reparations for Slavery and the Slave Trade: A Transnational and Comparative History (2017), with a new revised and expanded edition in 2023, Slavery in the Age of Memory: Engaging the Past (2020), and Museums and Atlantic Slavery (2021). She has two books (2024): Humans in Shackles: An Atlantic History of Slavery (University of Chicago Press) and The Gift: How Objects of Prestige Shaped the Atlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism (Cambridge University Press). She is currently working on three book projects: The Power of Art: The World Black Artists Made in the Americas, Global Slavery: A Visual History, and Oceans of Sorrow: The French Trade in Enslaved Africans.

Lewis Cardinal is a communicator and educator; he has dedicated his life’s work to creating and maintaining connections and relationships that cross-cultural divides. His long track record of public service currently includes; Board Member of Theatre Network Society, Vice-Chair of the Documentary Organization of Canada-Alberta, Chair of the Global Indigenous Dialogue of Initiatives of Change-Canada, and Trustee and Chair of the Indigenous Taskforce for the Council for a Parliament of World Religions.
Lewis has received two medals from Queen Elizabeth II, the Diamond Jubilee Medal for Public Service and the Platinum Jubilee Medal for his contributions to the Province of Alberta, the IndSpire Award for Public Service (awarded by the Indigenous peoples of Canada), the Province of Alberta’s Centennial Medal for his work in Human Rights and Diversity, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Grant MacEwan University, and the Honorary Degree of “Doctor of Sacred Letters” from St. Stephen’s College at the University of Alberta.
Lewis is Woodland Cree from the Sucker Creek Cree First Nation in Treaty No. 8 in northern Alberta, Canada. His consulting company, Cardinal Strategic Communications, specializes in Indigenous education, communications, and project development. He is also owner and Head Storyteller of Red Earth Blue Sky Productions, a media production company. Currently, Lewis is Project Manager for “kihcihkaw askiy–Sacred Land” in the City of Edmonton, the first designated urban Indigenous ceremony grounds in Canada.