The pursuit of natural resources in the Americas is as old as the age of conquest. From the gold-hungry myths of El Dorado to today’s race for lithium and rare earth minerals, extraction has shaped economies, governance, institutions, and national destinies across the continent. It has built cities, collapsed empires, created wealth, and fueled exploitation. That resources shape societies is clear, but how they do so, and to whose benefit, remains deeply contested.
That is precisely what we will delve into during this workshop. Resource extraction wears many faces in South American countries, from Ecuador and Colombia to Suriname and Guyana. Today’s so-called “green” extractivism claims to chart a moral high ground, promising environmental salvation and a cleansed conscience through electric vehicles, solar panels, and battery storage. At the same time, fantasies of petro-capitalism remain enticing, albeit to different audiences. The reality on the ground is rarely simple: resource wealth can mean opportunity, but it can also deepen fault lines. On the ground, realities are complex: resource wealth can create opportunity but also deepen divisions, especially in the context of the postcolonial Guianas. If resources must serve the 'common good,' who defines what that means in multi-ethnic states with layered histories? And can elites, local or foreign, be trusted to steward these gains responsibly?
This two-day conference brings together scholars, Indigenous leaders, and professionals from across sectors to examine how resource extraction continues to shape power and identity in South America. We ask: What really changes in the age of energy transition, what doesn’t, and what should?
Register at the top right to join the debate. We look forward to your presence!
Participants:
- Dr. Pablo Ampuero Ruiz, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Dr. Cristobál Bonelli, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam
- Dr. Susana Carmona Castillo, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University College Maastricht
- Prof. Dimitris Dalakoglou, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Dr. Duane Edwards, University of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana
- Ms. Berta Gualinga, Sarayaku Indigenous leader, Ecuador
- Nander van Kersbergen, student Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Eva Koemar, MA, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Dr. Danai-Maria Kontou, Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Science, VU Amsterdam
- Ir. Philip Liverpool, Energy Executive, Den Haag
- Dr. Simon Lobach, Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at Geneva Graduate Institute, Switserland
- Dr. Leonidas Oikonomakis, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Mirko van Pampus, MA, CEDLA / University of Amsterdam
- Lorenzo Poli, Visual Artist and Architect
- Ir. Winston Ramautarsing, Chairman Vereniging Economisten Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname
- Dr. Eva van Roekel, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Igor von Rosenberg, student Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Luna Schwirtz, student Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Prof. Marjo de Theije, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, VU Amsterdam
- Dr. Carolina Valladares, Environmental justice researcher, project officer, Amsterdam
The Workshop is funded by:
- Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (Cluster Biodiversity and Natural Resources)
- Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology / VU
- FlyBal MSCA Individual Fellowship
- Infrastructures and Sustainability Stimulation Grant / VU
- Creative Spaces, School of Social Sciences/ VU
For questions, please contact Medha Guru