This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden University’s Faculty of Humanities with Anton de Kom University in Suriname.

Types of mobility: Staff & student exchange

Project duration: 2023-2026

About the project

This Erasmus+ ICM project between the Institute for History of Leiden University and the Opleiding Geschiedenis of the Anton de Kom University was the second project of its kind. A previous project in call 2019 aimed at developing and teaching co-taught lecture series in which we explored the common ground that exists in the historical discipline despite political and cultural decolonisation. During the first decades of Surinamese independence, relations between historians became increasingly strained - even if lines of communication and cooperation remained open. The first Erasmus+ project offered a strong platform to develop a mutual understanding of the differences between the positionalities in the Netherlands and Suriname and the shared sense of urgency around historical questions, specifically in the field of political history and the history of slavery. In this, despite the disruption of Covid, the first project was successful.

• Read more about the ICM project in 2019-2022

The second ICM project (2023-2026) continued in the same vein, but added an important component by also including the National Archives of Suriname into the programme and widening the group of exchanged lecturers and PhDs. Although the initial plan had been to also exchange students, parallel programmes by the Dutch government to sponsor student exchanges in the field of history and heritage made this part of the exchange obsolete. Instead, we expanded the number of trainings both incoming and outgoing. We were also allowed an expansion of the budget and granted additional travel support.

We have gained additional support from different institutions to increase the profile of the exchanges. The Institute for History, through the budget of the applicant, sponsored the visit of the National Archivist of Suriname, Rita Tjin-Foo and a launching dinner for the exchange. The National Archive of Suriname sponsored the exchange by offering its premisis for teaching and training activities as well as public events with exchange staff. At the closing of the project, Sanjukta Poddar of Leiden University offered her support and budget for an additional training activity and closing event. These additional events were important to strengthen the ties between the institutions.

In June 2024, Karwan Fatah-Black and Karin Amatmoekrim visited the Anton the Kom University and the National Archive in Suriname. They gave multiple guest lectures and talked about decolonial interpretations of Surinamese historic archives. More information about their visit can be found below.

• News article on srherald.com (in Dutch)
  Koloniale archieven in nieuw licht: "Samenwerking Suriname-Nederland begonnen"
   
• News article on dwtonline.com (in Dutch)
  Onderzoek doen vanuit dekoloniaal perspectief
   
• Column from Karin Amatmoekrim in the NRC (in Dutch, available for subscribers only)
  Doopsgezinde verwoesting