In 2023 it was 160 year s ago that the first indentured laborers from Asian countries came to Suriname to work on the fields as substitutes of the slaves who were granted freedom when the transatlantic slavery was abolished in the Dutch West-Indies in 1863.
The term "indentured labor" in this context proves misleading, as both slavery and indentured labor were accompanied by coercion, repression, and structural inequality. Ther efore, indentured labor cannot be viewed in isolation from the histor y of slavery but must be understood as a continuation of it within th e colonial system.
In the Netherlands the Collectief Contractar beid, a cooperation between the Hindustani, Chinese and Javanese desc endants of the indentured laborers aims to raise awareness about thei r history in their own communities as well as in the Dutch society. T he view is that the history of indentured labor in Suriname is an int egral part of Dutch history and therefore deserves equal academic and public attention alongside other aspects of Dutch history.
Thi s requires a sound knowledge of this past. The Collectief Contractarb eid aims to bring this to the fore, with the cooperation of the Anton de Kom Chair at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The aim of the for thcoming conference is twofold: to have an inventory of academic rese arch done on indentured labor and to build a global network of scient ists and scholars active in this field. We hope that this will also b ring about insights into gaps in the research. Academic networks are requested to identify national and international experts in this fiel d who will be invited to have a role in the conference.
This wi ll be of significant benefit to communities of descendants of indentu red laborers around the world!
The audience will consist of sch olars and experts, supplemented by stakeholders from the communities affiliated with indentured labor. The conference is seen as a first, important step in bridging the gap between indentured labor, the hist ory of slavery, and the broader colonial system, with the aim of stim ulating further research.
From the Anton de Kom Chair, Professo r Guno Jones will, in his keynote, highlight slavery and indentured l abor as colonial systems of forced unfree and bonded labour and posit ion indentured labor as a continuation of the slavery past.
The conference has two concrete outcomes:
1. A platform for knowle dge exchange and dialogue between researchers, experts, and communiti es.
2. An overview of existing research on contract labor and t he development of an international network around this topic.
W orkshops will be hosted by: Dr. Kirtie Algoe, Prof. Dr. C. Choenni, P rof. em. David Dabydeen, dr. Jaswina Elahi, Prof. Rozemarijn Hoefte, Prakash Jankipersad, Prakash Kumar Jha, Founder & Director of the Pravasi Setu Foundation, Koen van der Lijn (researcher into Chinese indentured labor at Leiden University), Fresco Sam-Sin (heritage spec ialist, writing a book on Chinese indentured labor), Tanya Sitaram, R ita Tjien Fooh, Kitlyn Tjin A Djie, Carla Tjon, Prof. Nira Wickramasi nghe and Ference Wongsokario-Nojotaroeno.
Practical information :
• The conference will be organized in a hybrid format (in p erson and online), allowing international experts to participate.
• The conference language will be English.
• The target attendance in person is approximately 120–150 people.
• Dat e: June 20, 2026. The time will be 13:30 – 17:30 Dutch time, at the Vrije Universiteit, Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, room HG 14A00
• Mail contact: info@collecti efcontractarbeid.org
DESCRIPTION: The term "indentured labor" in this context proves mislea ding, as both slavery and indentured labor were accompanied by coerci on, repression, and structural inequality. Therefore, indentured labo r cannot be viewed in isolation from the history of slavery but must be understood as a continuation of it within the colonial system. In the Netherlands the Collectief Contractarbeid, a cooperation between the Hindustani, Chinese and Javanese descendants of the indentured la borers aims to raise awareness about their history in their own commu nities as well as in the Dutch society. The view is that the history of indentured labor in Suriname is an integral part of Dutch history and therefore deserves equal academic and public attention alongside other aspects of Dutch history. This requires a sound knowledge of th is past. The Collectief Contractarbeid aims to bring this to the fore , with the cooperation of the Anton de Kom Chair at the Vrije Univers iteit Amsterdam. The aim of the forthcoming conference is twofold: to have an inventory of academic research done on indentured labor and to build a global network of scientists and scholars active in this f ield. We hope that this will also bring about insights into gaps in t he research. Academic networks are requested to identify national and international experts in this field who will be invited to have a ro le in the conference. This will be of significant benefit to communit ies of descendants of indentured laborers around the world! The audie nce will consist of scholars and experts, supplemented by stakeholder s from the communities affiliated with indentured labor. The conferen ce is seen as a first, important step in bridging the gap between ind entured labor, the history of slavery, and the broader colonial syste m, with the aim of stimulating further research. From the Anton de Ko m Chair, Professor Guno Jones will, in his keynote, highlight slavery and indentured labor as colonial systems of forced unfree and bonded labour and position indentured labor as a continuation of the slaver y past. The conference has two concrete outcomes: 1. A platform for k nowledge exchange and dialogue between researchers, experts, and comm unities. 2. An overview of existing research on contract labor and th e development of an international network around this topic. Workshop s will be hosted by: Dr. Kirtie Algoe, Prof. Dr. C. Choenni, Prof. em . David Dabydeen, dr. Jaswina Elahi, Prof. Rozemarijn Hoefte, Prakash Jankipersad, Prakash Kumar Jha, Founder & Director of the Pravas i Setu Foundation, Koen van der Lijn (researcher into Chinese indentu red labor at Leiden University), Fresco Sam-Sin (heritage specialist, writing a book on Chinese indentured labor), Tanya Sitaram, Rita Tji en Fooh, Kitlyn Tjin A Djie, Carla Tjon, Prof. Nira Wickramasinghe an d Ference Wongsokario-Nojotaroeno. Practical information: • The con ference will be organized in a hybrid format (in person and online), allowing international experts to participate. • The conference lan guage will be English. • The target attendance in person is approxi mately 120–150 people. • Date: June 20, 2026. The time will be 13 :30 – 17:30 Dutch time, at the Vrije Universiteit, Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, room HG 14A00 • Mail contact: info@collectiefcontractarbeid.org In 2023 it was 160 years ago that the first indentured laborers from Asian countries ca me to Suriname to work on the fields as substitutes of the slaves who were granted freedom when the transatlantic slavery was abolished in the Dutch West-Indies in 1863. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR