WILLEMSTAD – The Committee for the Commemoration of the Slavery Past and Stichting NAAM signed a cooperation agreement on Friday, October 16. The agreement, which runs through 2029, aims to increase knowledge of the history of slavery and to make the historical and cultural heritage of the six Caribbean islands more accessible.
Lucia Beck-Fox, the committee’s director for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, and NAAM director Dimitri Cloose put their signatures to the agreement.
The collaboration focuses on four projects. The first is an inventory of existing publications on the history of slavery in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten. This information is intended to help determine which topics require further research.
A second project is linked to the commemoration of the 100th birthday of Elis Juliana in 2027. The programme includes publications, educational materials, public activities and a travelling exhibition about his contribution to language, art and Afro-Caribbean culture.
In addition, the organisations are working on a digital collection and map that brings together research findings, publications and other projects related to the history of slavery.
The fourth project centres on the Zikinzá collection, which consists of approximately 1,400 audio recordings made by Elis Juliana and Paul Brenneker from the 1950s onwards. The recordings contain stories, songs and information about language, slavery and everyday life. A pilot project will determine how this material can be transcribed and made accessible to the public.
NAAM will be responsible for the preparation and implementation of the projects, while the committee will contribute resources and funding. The activities will be developed in several phases, in accordance with further agreements between the two organisations.
