2007 has come and gone but the legacies and symbolic occurrences in this and previous years continue to affect the machinations of the ever rolling world. This retrospective is but a small contribution from those of us who are still grappling with and trying to comprehend the multiple dynamics that control this seemingly chaotic world.

The 2007 Retrospective Project will hopefully provide us with a useful place of reference and review enabling us to assess, challenge and advance our current thinking and subsequent actions. Often individual events occur that actually have a connection with a series of events past. In order for us to understand what is happening, let alone respond to it, we have to be in a position to understand the connectedness of, for example, the high profiling of certain types of murders with a certain profile of victim and perpetrator with changes to policing policies around stop and search. And that’s just for starters.

This site contains over one hundred news stories and hundreds more links. Despite this, there were many crucial stories that unfortunately we could not include due to limited resources and time. The reality dawned on us in the process of conceiving, researching, writing and editing this Project that such a work would need to start at the beginning of the year and continue throughout the year if we were to make it as comprehensive as we would have liked. Having said that, we are proud of our humble efforts and as Editor of the project, I am supremely proud of the team of people who worked intensively at the end of 2007, over New Year and into the beginning of 2008 to help make this project happen.

The Project is also enhanced by the numerous contributors who wrote their own retrospective reviews of the year past. The Project would not, could not have been complete without the presence of the diversity in voices and perspectives of African people from various experiences, backgrounds and professions.

We welcome feedback on our endeavour, both constructive and positive, and look forward to seeing you again this time next year for the 2008 Retrospective Project.

emma pierre
Editor and Writer