These topics will be explored in four sessions with various speakers from both VU Amsterdam and other universities. The key topic during this conference is decolonization, which includes decolonizing the digital society, knowledge production and education. Furthermore, light is shed on the Connected World Fellowship Program.
The conference takes place on Friday December 8 in the Aurora Room. It is open and free to visit and includes a free lunch. However, registry is required. Please register here or through the links on this page.
Session I: Decolonizing the Digital Society
Although young, the digital world has inherited inequalities and power disbalances from the old physical world. What can be done about the Digital Divide?
Session II: Educating for Societal Impact in a Globalizing and Decolonizing World
There are many initiatives in VU to innovate education for higher societal impact. This panel pitches some of them and discusses how we can develop high-impact education in and on the Globalizing and Decolonizing World.
The Connected World Fellowship Program
With previous fellow Daniel Neugebauer (Curator Haus der Kulturen der Welt HKW, Berlin) and current fellow Doortje Smithuijsen (journalist and independent Digital Society researcher, Amsterdam).
Session III: Decolonizing Knowledge Production and Indigenous Knowledge
Colonial and imperial relationships have tended to ignore and downplay indigenous knowledge, the traditional experience-based knowledge that people have developed often over generations in their own local context. This session discusses the role of indigenous knowledge and its relation with science from two very different angles, a philosophical and an agro-economic one.
Session IV: Decolonization Beyond the Fashion
Decolonization is everywhere. It is the topic of numerous books, conferences and campaigns. But how substantive is the seemingly universal embrace of this concept? Taken at its most radical, decolonization calls for a complete delinking of institutions from the power structures and modes of thinking produced by the long history of colonialism. Given the far-reaching nature of this demand, some wonder whether the ready acceptance of this term does not entail a simultaneous loss of meaning. In this round table, professors working on themes of colonialism, systemic racism and decolonization at the VU Humanities Faculty will reflect on the challenges and possibilities of the current moment.
Download the full program including the speakers and timeline here.