"The choice of Gorée to host one of the events of this Festival responds to the desire of the political authorities who intend to make the island a privileged place for a communion of the peoples of the world through the dialogue of cultures. A “sound and light” show, the “Féeries de Gorée” was put on for the occasion: it retraces the great moments in the history of Senegal and particularly of the island of Gorée and its role in the history of the slavery . The House of Slaves is restored on the occasion of this festival.
- In the first sequences of the film Little Senegal by Richard Bouchareb, the black tourists ame (...)
- Extract from the “Appeal from the Director General for the protection of Gorée, December 22, 1980”. The No (...)
The years following this first global meeting of Negro arts were marked by an influx of African-American tourists to Senegal. At a time when memory tourism is emerging around places steeped in history and particularly those linked to tragic events, Senegal focuses this type of approach almost exclusively on the commemoration of slavery and the island of Gorée 56 . American agencies offer “Black-History Tours” to black American tourists, allowing them to go and meditate on the land of their ancestors, more particularly in Gorée, and to meditate on their tragic destiny. “Thus, after having been, between Africa and the black Americas, the symbolic link of desolation, Gorée gradually becomes a symbol of hope, towards which, more and more numbers, converge today "today, in a sort of pilgrimage, the descendants of the deportees of yesteryear, in search of their roots and all those who intend to draw from its history the reasons for a new solidarity of peoples " .
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visit link) [accessed 06/06/2011]. Since 2005, the Gorée town hall has organized a festival as part of the promotion of cultural activities: the Gorée Diaspora Festival. This international event constitutes a moment of reunion between the Gorean population and the diaspora . Through this event, the municipal institution aims at three major objectives: to allow members of the diaspora to rediscover the identity lost on this island-memory, to involve them in safeguarding memory and to guide the future of Gorée in a status of a land of slaves towards that of a crossroads of intercultural dialogue. By opening the door to return, the town intends to promote Gorée on the international scene. This event constitutes a moment of festivities, meditation and remembrance: festivals, cinematographic meetings, concerts, exhibitions, music, visit to the House of Slaves, maritime hikes, etc. The festival also includes an educational component with the organization of seminars and training workshops, conferences and symposia whose themes relate to slavery, the slave trade and its memory, the dialogue of peoples and cultures."
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