Initiatives regarding slavery past and colonialism
An overview of initiatives within Utrecht University regarding slavery past and colonialism.
University wide initiatives
- One Book One Campus is a reading event at Utrecht University which aims to broaden our understanding of the world, our communities, and ourselves through sharing a good book. This year’s selected book is Anton de Kom's We Slaves of Suriname.
- The programme Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) sponsors and researches collaboration with the African and Caribbean Heritage Network in preparation in the run-up to Keti Koti 2023, among other things.
- The lustrum of Center of Academic Teaching and Learning had Inclusive Education as its theme, with a keynote speech by Bruce Mutsvairo. Jeroen Janssen presented tools for an ‘inclusive curriculum’. EDI will disseminate those tools university wide.
- The University Library has carried out a first inventory of its collections. Besides that, the library has set up an action protocol and starting points, and founded an ‘Origin’ Core Team in order to respond effectively if there is any suspicion that a collection piece has a colonial context.
- University Museum: will examine parts of the collection (including the Nias masks as a part of Pressing Matter).
- Studium Generale made a series (in Dutch).
- Henk van Rinsum published ‘Colonial History of UU’. Further reading in DUB.
- UU Participates in the working group Academic Heritage of the Dutch Academic Heritage Foundation (Dutch name: Stichting Academisch Erfgoed, SAE), a working group investigating policy on how to deal with academic heritage regarding the colonial past. UU is represented by Utrecht University Library, specifically by Mirte van der Zouwen.