JISTNA — International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

Every 23 August, Ouidah hosts the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (JISTNA), established by UNESCO in 1997. The date commemorates the Saint-Domingue uprising, on the night of 22–23 August 1791, seen as a turning point in the process that led to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

The ceremony traditionally takes place on the beach, at the foot of the Door of No Return — the very spot from which pirogues once carried captives to the slave ships anchored offshore. The programme combines a memorial walk, reflection panels, screenings, artistic performances and a commemorative ceremony.

A new initiative now extends the reach of this single day: SISTNA (International Week of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition), which links several localities, including Allada and Ouidah, around the same memorial work.

This is above all a moment of reflection, not a tourist spectacle — approach it with the same restraint as a visit to the Slave Route itself. Its closeness to the Ouidah Jazz Festival, at the end of its edition, opens a real opportunity to combine remembrance and living culture within the same late-August trip.