EUROTAST conference highlights work of Ryan Espersen

The Daily Herald writes that following a EUROTAST symposium hosted by St. Maarten Archaeological Centre Simarc Foundation in February, a larger EUROTAST conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September. EUROTAST is a European Union-sponsored Marie Curie programme for the investigation of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. St. Maarten/Simarc and Leiden University were represented by Simarc Director Dr. Jay Haviser. Held at the Danish National Academy of Sciences, this meeting highlighted the research of 13 EUROTAST-funded PhD students from around the circa-Atlantic region, including Ryan Espersen who is now conducting his PhD research for Leiden University in Saba and the Dutch Windward Islands. One of the important elements of Espersen’s work, together with Haviser, is the development of community archaeology programmes on the islands. The next major EUROTAST meetings will be held in Senegal and Ghana, West Africa, early next year. Haviser has been requested to speak in these meetings