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Published in 2022 and led by Sir Geoff Palmer, the ESCLR report examined how Edinburgh’s connections to slavery and colonialism are represented in its street names, monuments, and public spaces, and how this history continues to shape present-day inequalities.

The funding will accelerate progress on the outstanding recommendations, including public engagement, education, and the development of future approaches to heritage, interpretation, and commemoration.

Key planned activities include:

• Recruiting a full-time Project Officer and forming an Advisory Group
• Hosting a Decolonising Edinburgh Conference and an open symposium
• Developing digital platforms to support engagement and transparency
• Creating a small touring exhibition on diversity in Edinburgh’s cultural and heritage activity
• Delivering a community research project and a series of consultation workshops on built heritage
• Piloting learning resources for schools and anti-racist educators
• Coordinating annual stakeholder meetings and a digital campaign around UNESCO’s Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

As part of its commitment, the Council has also provided £10,000 and significant in-kind support to help realise the project’s ambitions.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said:

Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding marks an important step forward for Edinburgh. If we are to be the inclusive and welcoming city our residents expect, we must continue to confront the uncomfortable parts of our past.

Whilst we’ve issued a civic apology for Edinburgh’s historic role in sustaining slavery and colonialism, the project allows us to go further and become an example for how a city can face up to its slavery and colonial legacy.

I’m pleased to see work moving ahead and look forward to the progress it will bring.

Chair of the Implementation Group, Irene Mosota, said:

On behalf of the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Implementation Group, I thank the National Lottery Heritage Fund for accepting our bid and ideas, and for this funding, and the City of Â鶹ӳ»­ for its continued support. Edinburgh is acknowledging the impact of its past and recognising that the legacy of slavery and colonialism continues to shape inequalities today and into the future.

This funding will enable us to work with communities and institutions across the city in open and honest reflection and dialogue, not to reopen old wounds, but to help us understand our shared responsibility and how we move forward together with compassion, equality, and justice. We recognise the trust placed in us to carry forward the work begun by Sir Geoff Palmer, and we hope this work will offer a meaningful example of how cities across the UK can address historic legacies with care and integrity.

Caroline Clark The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland said:

Thanks to National Lottery players our funding will support the City of Â鶹ӳ»­ in partnership with the independent Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Implementation Group, to take a considered and collaborative approach to this important work.

Edinburgh's historic links to the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism are engrained in the city’s heritage. This project will develop ways for the city to engage thoughtfully with its past, contextualising and acknowledging these parts of the city’s story.