He believes the city's dedication to the arts stems from a desire to counter its image as purely a business center.

CNN: Shanghai bids to be 'Paris of the East' once more

The IWF admitted that its attempts to prevent people seeing the image had been counter productive.

BBC: IWF backs down on Wiki censorship

The Slave Route Project illustrates this point most appositely and contributes to action designed to counter demeaning prejudices inherited from a system of oppression that still tarnish the image of Africans and people of African descent.

UNESCO: Message from the Director-General on the occasion of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization