KRALENDIJK – On 17 May, the first Canon Day took place in Fontein. With more than 250 visitors, it was a well-attended event. This gathering marked the official launch of the Canon of Bonaire.
The Canon of Bonaire is a modern timeline offering an overview of remarkable and significant people, places, objects and events from the history of Bonaire. The Canon will soon also be made available through its own dedicated website.
The aim of the Canon is to share the history of Bonaire in a simple and accessible way. It can also be used in education. Each topic in the Canon is called a ‘window’. Each window includes a short text with additional information, such as books, photos, videos and podcasts related to that subject.
The Canon shows how the past, present and future are interconnected.
That is why the Public Entity Bonaire (OLB) chose Fontein as the location for the first Canon Day. In the past, Fontein held great importance for the indigenous population, and to this day it remains a place of special significance for Bonaire.
Bonaire is working together with local experts and the community. During the Canon Day, visitors were invited to suggest topics for the Canon. Many people took up the opportunity and wrote their ideas on the Canon board.
These suggestions will soon be published on the website of the Public Entity Bonaire. The community will then be able to vote on the topics they consider most important for the first 30 windows of the Canon. These first windows are set to be published at the end of 2028.
In the future, new windows can be added to the Canon. It will also be possible to update existing windows when new research yields new insights, or when a significant event occurs that deserves a place in the Canon. The Canon will therefore continue to evolve. History never stands still, it grows constantly with new stories and knowledge. In this way, the history of Bonaire is preserved for future generations.
A variety of cultural and historical activities were also organised during the Canon Day.
Part of the Slavery Past Agenda
The Public Entity Bonaire is coordinating this project as part of the Action Agenda on the Slavery Past of Bonaire. The agenda aims to acknowledge, research and bring visibility to Bonaire’s slavery past, for both current and future generations.
