Seminar May 18, 2019
Colonial Legacies Today: Indonesia and the Netherlands
This seminar will bring together two themes. One is colonialism in the Netherlands Indies as a form of racism, leaving ideological and mental legacies in the Netherlands and how those legacies can be identified, critiqued and overcome. The second is a critique of colonial policies and their impact on conditions in Indonesia until today. How are labor, agrarian, human rights and women’s movements working to overcome those conditions? How can international collaboration on these issues be advanced?
Location: International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE), Lombokstraat 40, 1094 AL Amsterdam
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2652141958136364/
Initiated by: ‘Indonesia-Netherlands Meetings Group’
Contact persons: Max Lane or Marjolein van Pagee
Contact persons: Max Lane or Marjolein van Pagee
With: Max Lane, Jan Breman, Francisca Pattipilohy, Michael van Zeijl, Lara Nuberg, Jazie Veldhuyzen, Riksa Afiaty
Workshops by: Ratna Saptari, Jan Breman, Max Lane, Nadya Karimasari, Kartika Pratiwi, Alex de Jong and Marjolein van Pagee
Video registration Part I, morning session: https://youtu.be/g61eWBw71YY
Video Registration Part II, Lecture Dr. Max Lane: https://youtu.be/z6f-HzpiRD0
Video Registration Part III, Afternoon session with Jazie Veldhuyzen, Lara Nuberg and Riksa Afiaty: https://youtu.be/ZPDqJe9_gxU
About the speakers:
* Dr. Max Lane is Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies – Yusof Isak Institute and Visiting Lecturer, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gajah Mada University, He is author of ‘Unfinished Nation: Indonesia Before and After Suharto’ (Verso, 2008); ‘Catastrophe in Indonesia’ (Segaull 2010) and ‘Indonesa Tidah Hadir di Bumi Manusia’ (Djaman Bare, 2017). Max Lane is the translator of six books by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, including This Earth of Mankind and its three sequels. For this seminar he will talk about: ‘Colonialism’s Contribution to Indonesia’s 21st Century Dead End.’
* Francisca Pattipilohy (93) is a living witness of both the Dutch, Japanese and Republican time. Together with Jeffry Pondaag (K.U.K.B.) she is the initiator of the open letter that was sent to the Dutch governemt in November 2017, which questioned the outline and approach of the Dutch research on violence in Indonesia (45-49). She will share her views regarding the long-term impact of colonialism on Indonesia and the Netherlands.
* Michael van Zeijl is a decolonial activist and co-founder of the Majority Perspective foundation. For this occasion Van Zeijl will present the findings of his research on the 4.5 billion payments of Indonesia to the Netherlands: ‘The Dutch post war recovery financed by Indonesia: A classic Dutch tale of fraud, theft, extortion and genocide’.
* Jan Breman is an Honorary Fellow at the International Institute for Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam. He is the author of many works on Indonesian social history and also India. His work has focused on the impact of both colonial and contemporary policy on poverty and the struggles of the poor. The title of his talk is ‘Colonialism as Racism’, focusing on the historical background.
* Jazie Veldhuyzen is city council member alternate for Amsterdam ‘BIJ1’, co-founder of Decolonization Network former Dutch East Indies and social entrepreneur. His talk will focus on ‘Racism in the Netherlands‘ from a contemporary perspective.
* Lara Nuberg studied history and graduated in 2014 with a thesis on Dutch military forces in North Sumatra, 1945 – 1950. Currently she writes the blog ‘Gewoon een Indisch meisje’ in which she explores the meaning of the colonial past on modern Dutch society and in particular on the mixed Indo-Dutch communities living in the Netherlands. For this seminar she will focus on the Dutch government sponsored research on violence in Indonesia (45-49) and the criticism that this project received. In this context she will further elaborate on the question: ‘How to deal with institutionalized colonialism.’
* Riksa Afiaty is an Indonesian curator and participant at the Jan van Eyck art institute (2018-2019) in Maastricht. She will talk about ‘the current position and representation of Indonesian arts (and artists) in the Netherlands.’
Workshops:
– ‘The 1965 Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity: Efforts for Truth at National and International Level.’
With Kartika Pratiwi, the founder of kotakhitam Forum – an independent organization, dedicated conducting research, workshops and documentary movie productions to record witness and survivor accounts of the 1965 mass killings. She just finished a fellowship at Alliance of Historical Dialogue and Accountability, at Columbia University in New York on a project project entitled “Rewriting 1965 in the Digital Age” which will be creating an interactive digital platform about the facts related with the Indonesian mass killing in 1965
With Kartika Pratiwi, the founder of kotakhitam Forum – an independent organization, dedicated conducting research, workshops and documentary movie productions to record witness and survivor accounts of the 1965 mass killings. She just finished a fellowship at Alliance of Historical Dialogue and Accountability, at Columbia University in New York on a project project entitled “Rewriting 1965 in the Digital Age” which will be creating an interactive digital platform about the facts related with the Indonesian mass killing in 1965
– ‘Reviving Solidarity: Wim Wertheim and Henk Sneevliet and their responses to the Indonesian Struggle’.
By Prof. Jan Breman and Alex de Jong.
– ‘Teaching and Understanding Colonial History: Oppression and Resistance. Dutch schoolbooks, how to include colonial history.’
By Marjolein van Pagee, historian, publicist, photographer and founder of Histori Bersama.
By Marjolein van Pagee, historian, publicist, photographer and founder of Histori Bersama.
– ‘Trade Unions In Indonesia Today: How to build solidarity.’
By Dr. Max Lane.
By Dr. Max Lane.
– ‘Agrarian and Environmental Struggles Today’.
By Nadya Karimasari, PhD candidate in Sociology, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), volunteer with the Indonesian Peasants Union.– ‘Understanding the Indonesia Women’s Movement Today: an Introduction.’
With Dr Ratna Saptari who was Co-founder of Kalyanamitra, a feminist organization involved with women workers and currently with, rural women. This organization was established in 1985 during the Suharto regime.
By Nadya Karimasari, PhD candidate in Sociology, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), volunteer with the Indonesian Peasants Union.– ‘Understanding the Indonesia Women’s Movement Today: an Introduction.’
With Dr Ratna Saptari who was Co-founder of Kalyanamitra, a feminist organization involved with women workers and currently with, rural women. This organization was established in 1985 during the Suharto regime.
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