Fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

Beats of Solidarity - Drumming for Peace and Equity
 
Date: April 14th, 2025
Location: South Visitors Plaza, UN Secretariat, New York
 RSVP by signing up to attend the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent:
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Attend a Drum Dialogue honouring the Fourth Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, the 10th anniversary of the “Ark of Return” Permanent Memorial, and the Second United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.

Join us for a powerful cultural experience, “Beats of Solidarity - Drumming for Peace and Equity” - at UN Headquarters in New York. This special gathering will feature master drummers representing the rich traditions of Africa and the African Diaspora, with artists hailing from Guinea, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Brazil, and Trinidad & Tobago, uniting through rhythm, culture, and spirit. The Drum Dialogue is more than a performance. It is a call to remember, honour, and uplift the voices and lived experiences of people of African descent worldwide. Through the universal language of percussion, we aim to amplify cultural resilience and unity that spans generations.

Alvin Ailey Dance Theater – Dance Workshop at the Fourth Session  
of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and the 10^th Anniversary of the Permanent Memorial to the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 1:15 p.m., United Nations Visitors Plaza
Introduction
The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery (TST) welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the legendary Alvin Ailey Dance Theater as an innovative, immersive component of its programming for the Fourth Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, to be held from 14-17 April 2025 at UNHQ New York.

This year, 2025, marks the 10^th anniversary of the United Nations Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (the Ark of Return) and the TST Programme envisions organizing this event on the Visitors Plaza at the Ark of Return to highlight its anniversary.

The Dance Workshop will take place in front of the Ark of Return. It will also be held against the backdrop of a dynamic sculpture exhibition featuring five large-scale “talking drums,” designed by artists across the African diaspora, which were curated by the non-profit arts organization Stories of Us, Inc. It will be held one day before a “drum dialogue” featuring professional drumming groups, also from across the diaspora community.

Alvin Ailey’s intergenerational West African dance workshop, which is also accompanied by live drumming, will introduce participants to the rhythms and movement of West Africa, learning the meaning behind the dance gestures and the significance of the dance within West African culture. It is an ideal complement to the many other activities planned on the Visitors Plaza throughout the week.

The Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery was established in 2006 with the adoption of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/19 to mobilize remembrance of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, and to educate about the causes and consequences of the history to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice.

The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent was established as a consultative mechanism for people of African descent with the adoption of GA resolution 75/314 on 2 August 2021. This mechanism also serves as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of Arican descent, and an advisory body to the Human Rights Council, in line with the programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent.
 
 
Objectives

• To increase awareness of the Fourth Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, 14-17 April
• To highlight the 2025 theme of the Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade (“Acknowledge the Past. Repair the present. Build a future of dignity and justice.”)
• To celebrate the culture of People of African Descent.
• To engage the general public and civil society in the celebration of this culture.
• To inspire people to create a movement of shared humanity while empowering them to fight for the rights of and justice for the global African diaspora.
• To highlight the 10^th anniversary of the Ark of Return

 
Format and Focus
All events will take place in person on the Visitors Plaza (14 – 17 April 2025).
The Permanent Forum is expected to bring together members of the international community and civil society.

Draft Scenario for Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre West African Dance Workshop (16 April – rain date is 16 April)):

1:15 p.m.          Opening remarks by DGC (TBC) (3 minutes)
1:18 p.m.          Welcome remarks by UNFPA (DAWN MINOTT) (4 minutes)
1:22 p.m.          Remarks and instructions by an Alvin Ailey representative (5 minutes)
1:27 p.m.          Dance performance or dance workshop (45 – 60 minutes)
2:30 p.m.          Event closes

Title: “Beyond Numbers" - Leveraging Data and Evidence to Advance Equity for People of African Descent

Date: April 16, 2025
1:15 PM to 2:45 PM

Location: UN Secretariat CR6; New York

Background
Established on the 2nd of August of 2021 by the General Assembly’s adoption of resolution 75/314, the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) is a consultative mechanism for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders, a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent as well as an advisory body to the Human Rights Council and the UN system on issues connected to racism and discrimination against People of African Descent.1

Despite at least 22 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean region having demonstrated progress in the inclusion of racial ethnic self-identification variables in the 2020 census round , adequately quantifying the challenges faced by people of African descent as well monitor and highlight best practices in targeted program implementation and other efforts to fight systemic racism, discrimination ensure development and human rights, remains a challenge. Data disaggregated by race and ethnicity remains scarce, of poor quality or regionally and globally incomparable. Indeed, the significant gap in reliable data and evidence regarding the prevalence and specific impacts of racism across various sectors such as employment, housing, healthcare, and the criminal justice system, hinders efforts to effectively address and combat systemic structural inequalities for people of African descent.

Challenges in collecting data on race and ethnicity include the underreporting of discriminatory experiences, lack of disaggregated data, implicit bias in data analysis. Generating disaggregated data by race and ethnicity is crucial for understanding the lived experiences of people of African descent and taking appropriate measures to combat systemic racism. This is particularly important, when In many countries in Latin America more than 25% of the African descent population live in poverty, the rates sometimes going as high as 40.8% for Afro-descendants who live in total poverty (ECLAC and UNFPA, 2020).

The inequalities faced by girls and adolescents of African descent in Latin America are alarming. World Bank data reveals that 1 in 5 Afro-descendant children drop out of school before completing their education2. Furthermore, Afro-descendant adolescents are more likely to become pregnant before the age of 19, which increases the risk of maternal mortality and affects their life trajectories. The Second Regional Report on the Implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, issued by ECLAC in 20243 shows that in 9 countries of the region the percentage of adolescent mothers between 15 and 19 years old is higher in the Afro-descendant population. The disparities for people of African descent in the Americas are just as high for other important development issues including maternal health, education and more. These figures highlight the urgent need to address inequalities and ensure the protection of rights and choices of Afrodescendants girls and adolescents.

Data and evidence also play a critical role in helping to understand what is working in order to scale-up positive experiences and accelerate progress and ensure we leave no one behind and the highest standard of health including sexual and reproductive health. Likewise, statistical visibility is a human rights imperative for the Afro-descendant population and is fundamental for their social and economic inclusion. Identifying the gaps resulting from exclusion and inequality through data collection and disaggregation facilitates understanding the disparities which allows the design of targeted interventions to address them. This data-driven approach enables more effective policy formulation and resource allocation, ultimately promoting equity, social justice and human rights.

Objective:
During the 4th session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, UNFPA, in partnership with UN-Women and with the co-sponsorship of the government of Colombia ,is hosting a side event titled “Beyond Numbers: Leveraging Data and Evidence to Advance Equity for People of African Descent”. The event will explore the critical role of data and evidence in combating systemic racism, promoting equity and human rights. It will showcase impactful past and current research data and evidence projects, best practices discuss progress in data disaggregation by several development factors including gender, economic status, race, ethnicity, location and others. It will highlight data and evidence-generation efforts by UNFPA and other partners including regional bodies, CSOs and academia. Furthermore it will call for more concrete commitments, particularly on ensuring sustainable financing for data collection, analysis and dissemination.

● Raise global awareness of the gap and challenges in the development, analysis and dissemination of data disaggregated by race and ethnicity as well as other development markers that reflect the lived experiences of people of African Descent.
● Emphasize the importance of strong data collection and evidence-based strategies to combat racism and racial discrimination, reach those furthest behind including to ensure human rights and access to quality sexual and reproductive health and rights.
● Highlight best practices in data collection and analysis, as well as the transformative impact reliable data and evidence has in the lives and livelihoods of People of African Descent.
● Call for more concrete commitments, to ensure sustainable financing for data collection, analysis and dissemination.


__________
1. United Nations General Assembly. (2021). Establishment of the Permanent Forum of People of African
Descent (A/RES/ 75/314)
2. Freire, Germán; Schwartz Orellana, Steven; Carbonari, Flávia. 2022. Afro-descendant Inclusion in Education: An anti-racist agenda for Latin America. Washington, DC: World Bank. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO
3. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Population, Development and Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: Second Regional Report on the Implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development (LC/CRPD.5/3), Santiago, 2024.

Side Event/Panel Discussion:
The Role of Arts and Culture in Acknowledging the Legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Supporting Afro-Descendant Communities
(17 April 2025, 1:15 p.m., Conference Room 6)

Introduction
The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery (TST) will hold a panel discussion to feature concrete, on-the-ground examples of arts and cultural programmes that are spotlighting the connections between the lived experience of Afro-descendant communities and the legacies of the trade in enslaved Africans.

The panel discussion will be convened as a side event at the Fourth Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, to be held from 14-17 April 2025 at UNHQ New York.

Under the Outreach Programme’s 2025 theme – “Acknowledge the past. Repair the present. Build a future of dignity and justice.” – the panel will feature good practice by institutions and individuals in supporting work that shines a light on the contributions of people of African descent, and addresses the wounds caused by the 400-year-long transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.

The panel will focus on how work in the arts – such as through national museums, educational programming, and innovative grantmaking – can support reparatory justice initiatives that are challenging stereotypes, reframing history, and uplifting Afro-descendant communities. This intimate conversation between arts practitioners will focus on concrete examples and allow participants to share their experiences, ask questions, and learn from each other.

Proposed Speakers and Case Studies: 

• Rodney Leon (United States/Haiti) – The Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the United Nations
• Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye (United Kingdom/United States) – “The Stories of Us” arts non-profit organization
• Speaker TBC (Brazil) – Valongo Wharf slave disembarkation site/planned museum, Rio de Janeiro
• Additional panelists (TBC)

Objectives

• To spotlight to unique value that arts and culture can contribute to reframing narratives about the legacies of enslavement and the contributions of people of African descent.
• To highlight the 2025 theme of the Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
• To acknowledge the culture of people of African descent.
• To engage United Nations Member States, members of civil society, artists, scholars and others attending the Permanent Forum in discussions about the many forms reparatory justice can take, and to highlight good practice.

To inspire people to create a movement of shared humanity while empowering them to fight for the rights of and justice for the global African diaspora.