During this interdisciplinary symposium, the Grotius Centre for Legal Studies and the Research Group ‘Museums, Collections and Society‘ from Leiden University, will focus on the changing approaches towards the restitution of objects from a colonial context. The aim is to look beyond individual country approaches and ethical policies to explore what comparative lessons can be learned from different contexts regarding the treatment of cultural objects and/or human remains.
Date: 23 – 24 May 2024
Time: 09:30 AM – 17:00 PM (CET)
Language: English
Location: Wereldmuseum and Leiden University
Organizers: Grotius Centre for Legal Studies and the Research Group ‘Museums, Collections and Society’
The concept of decolonising the museum, means different things in different parts of the world. ICOM, the International Council of Museums, established a Working Group on Decolonisation. During this conference on 17 June 2024, the Working Group will share experiences from their daily practice, offering a broad variety of perspectives.
Speakers from Barbados, Benin, Canada, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Taiwan and Zambia, as well as from European countries, will shed light on what decolonisation means for their work. Discussions will include how to decolonize archival and artifact collections, how to work with diaspora communities and Indigenous peoples to reconcile colonial histories and how to renew conventional colonial museums and unpack colonial legacies.
Date: 17 June 2024
Time: 09:30 AM – 4:30 PM (CET)
Language: English
Location: Amersfoort (the Netherlands) and online
Organizers: Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, in collaboration with ICOM, ICOM Netherlands, DutchCulture and UNESCO NL
On 27 May 2024, MAS and FARO are organizing a seminar on provenance research concerning heritage from a colonial context. During this seminar, practical experience is combined with theoretical background to discuss provenance research into heritage from a colonial context and related topics, such as digital restitution and collaboration with communities of origin. In addition, the results of the MAS-project concerning provenance research into the museum’s Congolese collection will be presented during the seminar.
Date: 27 May 2024
Time: 09:30 AM – 4:00 PM (CEST)
Speakers: Lies Busselen (KU Leuven), Randy Kalemba and Pauline Malenga (Intellectuele Congolese Kring), Vicky Van Bockhaven (Ghent University), Camiel de Kom (Colonial Collections Consortium), and more.
Language: Dutch
Location: MAS, Hanzestedenplaats 1, Antwerp
Organizers: MAS and FARO
The Call for Applications for the exchange programme Sharing Stories on Contested Histories is now open. Urgent societal challenges such as the climate crisis, social injustice, economic inequality and the threat to democracy are urging museum and heritage professionals to reflect on their role in society and on their own working practices. Many of these issues have a deep connection to our recent and less recent past, and to the histories and practices of museums themselves. The 2024 edition of the Sharing Stories on Contested Histories programme will explore how striving for equity may look like in the heritage sector, by stimulating and facilitating an exchange of knowledge, tools and experiences regarding professional practices. Dealing with collections from a colonial context is one of the topics that will be discussed during the programme.
This programme is organized by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and the Reinwardt Academy (Amsterdam University of the Arts) as part of the International Heritage Cooperation programme.
The deadline to apply is 29 June 2024. See the full Call for Applications for more information about the content and the application process.
Symposium Intertwined Stories – Colonial and religious heritageIn collaboration with the Radboud University, the Catholic Documentation Centre (KDC) organizes the Jan-Roes lecture. This year, Prof Susan Legêne, historian at VU University Amsterdam, has been invited to speak. She is closely involved in the question of how colonial objects can contribute to a responsible handling of the colonial past and its repercussions in present and future society.
Date: Friday May 31, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Speakers: Susan Legêne, Maaike Derksen and Marit Monteiro
Language: Dutch
Location: Chapel of the Berchmanianum at Radboud University (Houtlaan 4, 6525 XZ, Nijmegen)
Organization: Katholiek Documentatie Centrum