A three-day webinar in the context of the 15th anniversary of the inscription of the Aapravasi Ghat on UNESCO’s World Heritage List kicked off today. The webinar, organised by the Indian Ocean Committee on Indentured Labour Route Project (ILRP) in collaboration with the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund is being held from 09 to 11 August 2021. The aim is to discuss and exchange ideas with other countries which have a common history as regards indentured labour.
Around 25 attendees, both local and foreign, are participating in the webinar by showcasing their empirical, analytical and critical research on the history of indentured labour.
Topics being deliberated on include: Early migrations and indenture; Recruitment and operation of the Indentured System; Indenture in Colonial Mauritius; Experiences of returning immigrants as well as Memory and Heritage.
In his intervention at the opening of the webinar, the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck pointed out that in the last 15 years Mauritius has progressed especially regarding the ILRP. The objectives of the ILRP, he said, are to share current research and programmes on indentured labour and strengthen the links among countries where indentured labour occurred so as to better appreciate the existing historical interrelations between these countries.
Minister Teeluck highlighted that the webinar is yet another step for the ILRP while adding that the Indian Ocean Committee is proposing to hold a second webinar next year whereby the conference papers will be peer reviewed for the publication of an e-book on the history and heritage of indentured labour.