The traces of the Dutch colonial and slavery past are still present in our contemporary society. Developing knowledge about the role and influence of the Dutch colonial slavery past in our current society is a necessary prerequisite for gaining a better understanding of its long-lasting and often far-reaching effects. The project ‘Slavery past present: Dutch slavery and colonialism and their present-day impact’ therefore explores possibilities for redress from the perspectives of descendant and Indigenous communities in and from Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean, South Africa, Indonesia and the Netherlands. In doing so, it aims to contribute to the debate on how societies deal with past injustices and work towards a just future. It also focuses on strengthening the development, sharing and preservation of knowledge on this subject within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Dr Alana Helberg-Proctor (University of Amsterdam) coordinates this project within a large international consortium*. Co-coordinators include Dr Coen van Galen, Dr Matthias Rosenbaum-Feldbrügge (Faculty of Arts, Radboud University) and Dr Sanne Weber (Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University). Van Galen and Rosenbaum-Feldbrügge are also involved in the construction of the Historical Database of Suriname and the Caribbean (HDSC). This is a collaborative project involving hundreds of citizen scientists and knowledge and heritage institutions – who assist with the entry of historical population data – making, amongst other things, the slave registers of Suriname and Curaçao available online for (genealogical) research.
Congratulations to everyone on the funding awarded!
Read the official press release from the NWO here: https://edu.nl/nbg6e.
*) Other members of the consortium are: Dr Emmanuel Akwasi Adu-Ampong (Wageningen University and Research), Dr Markus Balkenhol (Meertens Institute – KNAW), Dr Sadiah Boonstra (Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia), Prof. Ben Crum (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Dr Benedicta Deogratias (University of Aruba), Ida Does (Ida Does Productions), Prof. Dr Serena Does (Verwey Jonker Institute), Dr Renzo Duin (International Centre for Amazonian Indigenous Knowledge AMIK), Dr Rachel Gillett (Utrecht University), Dr Margo Groenewoud, Dr Deniz Ikiz (Eindhoven University of Technology), Nancy Jouwe, Claudia Kraan, Dr Harro Maat (Wageningen University), Dr Linda Mann (AARN, Columbia University, USA), Wim Manuhutu (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Dr Erica Meijers (Protestant Theological University), Prof. Dr Siona O’Connell (University of Pretoria, South Africa), Dr Carolina Sanchez-Jaegher, Uriël Sabajo (Diaspora Institute Netherlands DIN), Melissa Stamper, Afiah Vijlbrief-Angela (University of Amsterdam), Diana Vlet (SHS Foundation for the Commemoration of the History of Slavery), Dr Patricia Wijntuin (Utrecht University), Dr Paul Wolff Mitchell.