USI is a national education initiative, which began in April 2003. It is funded by DCMS and DCSF as part of the Strategic Commissioning National/Regional Partnerships Programme. Five museums are working in partnership to promote and support the effective teaching of the history and legacies of the transatlantic slave trade in schools and communities through resources that fully reflect the many historical and contemporary perspectives on this major part of world history. Consultation has been at the heart of this project; from its inception the museums have discussed ideas and developments with cultural, education and community sectors to inform the content of the resources.

“The Understanding Slavery Initiative has enabled the National Maritime Museum to work with teachers, educators and young people to develop new learning programmes, resources and provision for CPD/INSET. The initiative has been characterised by close collaboration between curators and educators, exploring how the Museum’s slavery-related material can be explored and interpreted to inspire and inform a way of working with collections that is influenced by diverse audience perspectives.”

National Maritime Museum

The catalyst for this work was the acquisition of the Michael Graham Stewart collection of slavery-related material in 2002, enabled by the generous support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The skills we have developed over the last three years as a project team have built confidence and expertise across the Museum. These accessible and creative approaches will continue to inform programmes and project work as we lead up to the opening of two related permanent galleries in 2007 and 2008.

National Maritime Museum
Romney Road
Greenwich
London SE10 9NF
Telephone: 020 8858 4422

“The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum is a new museum, and one of the benefits of being involved with the Understanding Slavery Initiative and the partnership was being able to develop some our more challenging programmes in an environment of mutual support and shared experience. The project has enabled us to be imaginative in the development of our education programmes around the transatlantic slave trade and to learn as individuals.”

British Empire and Commonwealth

Museum The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum is embarking on a challenging and important programme around the transatlantic slave trade. Our physical location in Bristol along with our museum’s purpose means that it is a subject that we feel we must engage with and present to others. Therefore we are currently developing a new exhibition about the subject. To support the exhibition we will be building on our existing programmes around the history of slavery and using the experiences we have developed through the project to influence the continuing development of our learning programmes.

British Empire & Commonwealth Museum
Clock Tower Yard
Temple Meads
Bristol BS1 6QH.
Telephone: 0117 925 4980

“Our involvement on the Understanding Slavery Initiative has helped to inform the ongoing development of education resources and programmes for schools and visitors. It is a valuable forum to discuss and share ideas about experiences and interpretation of our collections, on what can often be a challenging and sensitive subject. It provides encouragement and support to achieve a greater understanding of the issues presented by this vast topic.”

National Museums Liverpool

The purpose and remit of the National Museums Liverpool Learning Division is to provide formal, informal and community learning programmes based on and relating to the collections - for people of all ages, cultures, abilities and backgrounds. We create learning programmes and strategies for learners of all ages that are relevant to special education needs, education attainment and achievement, social inclusion, racial understanding and tolerance.

National Museums Liverpool
Albert Dock
Liverpool L3 4AQ
Telephone: 0151 478 4499

“The Understanding Slavery Initiative has been very important for Bristol’s Museums Galleries and Archives. We have been able to develop and deepen our thinking about how the subject of slavery is approached as well as staff confidence, knowledge and expertise. It has been of real benefit to share experience and work with other museums who are dealing with this subject.”

Bristol City’s Museums, Galleries and Archives

Bristol City’s Museums, Galleries and Archives have a gallery created in 2000 at Bristol’s Industrial Museum, which explores the role of the city in the transatlantic slave trade. We provide taught workshops and resources for schools on the slave trade. In 2006 the Industrial Museum will close to be redeveloped as the Museum of Bristol, which will tell the story of the city and its people. The project will continue to inform our thinking about the way the subject will be dealt with in the new museum, in particular the provision we make for the formal education sector. Throughout 2006 we will be working in partnership with the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum to develop their exhibition.

Bristol City’s Museums, Galleries and Archives
Queen’s Road
Bristol BS8 1RL
Telephone: 0117 922 3571

“Hull Museums have benefited from the Understanding Slavery Initiative by being involved in the strategic dimension of the partnership as well as benefiting from the links with other museum partners. The Renaissance Hub funded Education Service which opened in November 2004 has used the resources and research to inform the development of its programmes for the galleries at Wilberforce House. Prior to this the gallery had a very limited range of options for schools, which included a handling session and resource pack. Major new programmes have been designed and developed following consultation with key audiences during 2006-08. “

Hull City Museums and Art Gallery

In March 2007 Wilberforce House Museum re-opened to the public after a 1.6 million pound redevelopment programme to mark the bicentenary of the Abolition of the British Transatlantic Slave Trade. This major transformation involved the creation of new galleries and a new learning centre. Hull Museum Education team designed “Access Wilberforce” a comprehensive learning package based around key themes explored within the galleries at Wilberforce House Museum. This learning package aims to support the study of the life and work of William Wilberforce, the abolition movement, the British Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and African culture. In the first term alone over 4000 pupils accessed these valuable resources. The new learning package targets key stage 1, 2, 3 and 4, providing e-learning materials, outreach projects, teachers’ packs, loan boxes, and an intensive CPD/INSET programme. A series of wider family audience programmes are also available, developed as part of the Wilberforce 2007 commemorations in Hull.


Hull City Museums and Art Gallery
High Street
Hull HU1 1NQ
Telephone: 01482 300300