Events
We also work on multiple collaborative projects throughout the year to bring together academics to develop an understanding of slavery past and present. We aim to create a base of knowledge that today’s thinkers can use to understand and tackle slavery in the present, while also focusing on reparations and decolonisation.
Tickets for events are available on our Ticket Source page.
Upcoming Events
Modern Slavery in Australia: Lessons from the Frontline of Law, Policy, and Public Engagement
24th September 2025 (2pm)
The Arthur West Room, The University of Liverpool
Speaker: Kyla Raby, an antislavery specialist with experience as a researcher, educator, and practitioner.
Australia’s modern slavery landscape is shaped by a complex legacy, from the forced labour of penal colonies and exploitation of First Nations peoples to today’s challenges of human trafficking, forced labour, and forced marriage. Drawing on case studies from the co-authored book Modern Slavery in Australia, her applied research and experience as an antitrafficking practitioner, Kyla will discuss key gaps and challenges within this contemporary landscape. She will examine Australia’s survivor support framework, including barriers to accommodating survivors and the unique challenges faced by survivors who are parents. Given the transparency approach of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), which relies heavily on consumer pressure to drive change, the talk will also explore how public engagement initiatives such as the Everyday Slavery project aim to bridge the gap between research, policy, and community action. Lessons from the Australian experience will be considered in an international context, with reflections on how these insights can inform antislavery efforts in the UK and beyond.
The African Diaspora: Intellectual and Artistic Responses to Slavery and Its Legacies
1st October 2025 (5pm)
Online
Speakers:
Dr Alexander Scott, Project Curator of History and Archaeology at the International Slavery Museum (ISM), Liverpool
Rachel Stephens, Professor of Art History at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa
Brandon R. Byrd, a scholar of Black intellectual and social history
Join the second webinar as part of a new online seminar series, Legacies of Enslavement: Transatlantic Dialogues on History and Justice.
The African Diaspora: Intellectual and Artistic Responses to Slavery and its Legacies seminar will facilitate conversation between three leading experts in the field from the both the UK and US. Drawing upon their own research, they will examine and discuss how the impact of the Transatlantic slave trade has been, and is still being, interpreted and understood intellectually and artistically by contemporary and modern figures alike.
A Long Way to Go: Repression, Resistance, and Remembrance
5th November 2025 (4pm)
FACT Liverpool, L1 4DQ
Join the CSIS for a unique event that explores the difficult histories of repression and resistance through film and conversation.
We’ll begin with a special screening of A Long Way To Go. A critical analysis of the intersection of memory, resistance, and the legacies of the prejudicial penal system through two Western Australian prisons, Fremantle and Roebourne.
Following the film, a panel of experts in history, criminology, and filmmaking will discuss how we can document and remember this history through digital media and film. The panel will explore the lasting effects of colonial penal systems on communities today. Our panel of experts will offer practical advice and guidance on how to use film, art, and archives to preserve your community’s history and experiences. This event is for everyone. It’s an opportunity to engage with critical topics in history and social justice, learn new skills, and connect with fellow filmmakers.
Recent past events
Alongside our event archives, some of our past events are available to watch via our YouTube page.
International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum Workshops
While ISM and MM close for refurbishment in 2025, the two museums will be continuing to offer outreach workshops for schools.
- Bridging Histories: exploring transatlantic slavery on tour
- Crossing the Atlantic: stories and craft ISM on tour