Rt. Hon. Owen S. Arthur
Prime Minister of Barbados

Prime Minister of Barbados, The Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur, established in 1998 and 1999, respectively, a Commission for Pan-African Affairs (CPAA) and a Committee for National Reconciliation in the island. In so doing it intensified the process of officially redressing the historical injustices of the past – begun by the patriots of modern Barbadian history – thus preparing the way for healing between African and European descendants in Barbados, and the creation of a more just and cohesive society.

Following the Prime Minister’s guidelines, the CPAA has taken the initiative of inviting the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Barbados Investment Development Corporation (BIDC) to partner with them in mounting a Global Dialogue on the Slave Trade, Reconciliation and Social Justice that concludes in a Business Confab on August 31, 2007.

The overall purpose of the Bridgetown conference is to re-visit the triangular trade of the slave era so as to make another significant step towards bringing closure to the lingering legacy of racism and underdevelopment across the Pan-African world. To do this, it is imperative that, from a background of many different spiritual traditions and intellectual views, we create – systematically and in very concrete terms – a new understanding of shared and sustainable development between Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas.

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