Making amends for Empire - has Scotland done enough?

Colonial profit and participation are embedded in the history of Scotland. Join us to hear about ongoing work to address the history of Scotland's involvement in transatlantic slavery and Empire and to explore whether enough is being done to confront and atone for Scotland's imperial past.

Relevant books on this topic are available to order and collect from our online shop (with a 10% discount).

Panellists:

Irene Mosota is the CEO and founder of Knowledge Bridge, an organisation that supports companies with cross-cultural leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion. Irene also serves as the independent chair for the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Implementation Review Group, closely examining the city's past and present, with support from the City of Edinburgh Council. As a chartered fellow for the CIPD People Profession and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Irene is committed to inspiring improved ways of thinking, acting, and fostering positive changes.

Dr Stephen Mullen is an historian of slavery and its aftermath in the British Atlantic world, with a particular focus on Scotland and the Caribbean. He is alumnus of the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, completing a PhD at the latter institution in 2015. Since then, he has been a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in history at the University of Glasgow. His research has focused on the social and economic consequences of Atlantic slavery in a British-Atlantic framework. He was the principal researcher and co-author of the report ‘Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow’ and is currently commissioned by Glasgow City Council to lead an audit of the city of Glasgow’s built heritage and the historic connections with Atlantic slavery.

Zandra Yeaman is curator of Discomfort at The Hunterian, University of Glasgow. She has a background in anti-racist activism in Scotland, working for social justice and equality. The Hunterian’s ‘Curating Discomfort’ project was devised to challenge historical power dynamics and empower new forms of collaboration between community groups, museum professionals and academics. International recognition for ‘Curating Discomfort’ has shaped a new project, ‘Power in This Place: Unfinished Conversations’. Zandra’s current role as head of strategy, development and implementation, contributes to strategic planning including challenging existing models, driving action and developing a culture of innovative engagement practices to enable fundamental and permanent re-alignment around race and equality practices.