In 2023 it was 160 y ears ago that the first indentured laborers from Asian countries came to Suriname to work on the fields as substitutes of the slaves who w ere granted freedom when the transatlantic slavery was abolished in t he Dutch West-Indies in 1863.
The term "indentured labor" in this context proves misleading, as both slavery and indentured lab or were accompanied by coercion, repression, and structural inequalit y. Therefore, indentured labor cannot be viewed in isolation from the history of slavery but must be understood as a continuation of it wi thin the colonial system.
In the Netherlands the Collectief Con tractarbeid, a cooperation between the Hindustani, Chinese and Javane se descendants of the indentured laborers aims to raise awareness abo ut their history in their own communities as well as in the Dutch soc iety. The view is that the history of indentured labor in Suriname is an integral part of Dutch history and therefore deserves equal acade mic and public attention alongside other aspects of Dutch history.
This requires a sound knowledge of this past. The Collectief Cont ractarbeid aims to bring this to the fore, with the cooperation of th e Anton de Kom Chair at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The aim of the forthcoming conference is twofold: to have an inventory of academ ic research done on indentured labor and to build a global network of scientists and scholars active in this field. We hope that this will also bring about insights into gaps in the research. Academic networ ks are requested to identify national and international experts in th is field who will be invited to have a role in the conference.
This will be of significant benefit to communities of descendants of indentured laborers around the world!
The audience will consist of scholars and experts, supplemented by stakeholders from the commu nities affiliated with indentured labor. The conference is seen as a first, important step in bridging the gap between indentured labor, t he history of slavery, and the broader colonial system, with the aim of stimulating further research.
From the Anton de Kom Chair, P rofessor Guno Jones will, in his keynote, highlight slavery and inden tured labor as colonial systems of forced unfree and bonded labour an d position indentured labor as a continuation of the slavery past.
The conference has two concrete outcomes:
1. A platform for knowledge exchange and dialogue between researchers, experts, and co mmunities.
2. An overview of existing research on contract labo r and the development of an international network around this topic.< /p>
Workshops will be hosted by: Dr. Kirtie Algoe, Prof. Dr. C. Cho enni, Prof. em. David Dabydeen, dr. Jaswina Elahi, Prof. Rozemarijn H oefte, Prakash Jankipersad, Prakash Kumar Jha, Founder & Director of the Pravasi Setu Foundation, Koen van der Lijn (researcher into C hinese indentured labor at Leiden University), Fresco Sam-Sin (herita ge specialist, writing a book on Chinese indentured labor), Tanya Sit aram, Rita Tjien Fooh, Kitlyn Tjin A Djie, Carla Tjon, Prof. Nira Wic kramasinghe and Ference Wongsokario-Nojotaroeno.
Practical info rmation:
• The conference will be organized in a hybrid forma t (in person and online), allowing international experts to participa te.
• The conference language will be English.
• The target attendance in person is approximately 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 H G 14A00
• Mail contact: info@collectiefcontractarbeid.org
DESCRIPTION: In 2023 it was 160 years ago that the first indentured la borers from Asian countries came to Suriname to work on the fields as substitutes of the slaves who were granted freedom when the transatl antic slavery was abolished in the Dutch West-Indies in 1863. The ter m "indentured labor" in this context proves misleading, as both slave ry and indentured labor were accompanied by coercion, repression, and structural inequality. Therefore, indentured labor 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, Chin ese and Javanese descendants of the indentured laborers aims to raise awareness about their history in their own communities 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 deserv es equal academic and public attention alongside other aspects of Dut ch history.This requires a sound knowledge of this past. The Collecti ef Contractarbeid aims to bring this to the fore, with the cooperatio n of the Anton de Kom Chair at the Vrije Universiteit 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 net work of scientists and scholars active in this field. We hope that th is will also bring about insights into gaps in the research. Academic networks are requested to identify national and international expert s in this field who will be invited to have a role in the conference. This will be of significant benefit to communities of descendants of indentured 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, Professor Guno Jones will, in his keynote, highlight slavery and indentured labor as colonial systems of forced unfree and bonded labour and position ind entured labor as a continuation of the slavery past.The conference ha s two concrete outcomes:1. A platform for knowledge exchange and dial ogue between researchers, experts, and communities.2. An overview of existing research on contract labor and the development of an interna tional network around this topic.Workshops will be hosted by: Dr. Kir tie Algoe, Prof. Dr. C. Choenni, Prof. em. David Dabydeen, dr. Jaswin a 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 Universi ty), Fresco Sam-Sin (heritage specialist, writing a book on Chinese i ndentured labor), Tanya Sitaram, Rita Tjien Fooh, Kitlyn Tjin A Djie, Carla Tjon, Prof. Nira Wickramasinghe and Ference Wongsokario-Nojota roeno.Practical information:• The conference will be organized in a hybrid format (in person and online), allowing international experts to participate.• The conference language will be English.• The t arget attendance in person is approximately 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@collectief contractarbeid.org END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR