As it happened

Upon Cornelis Chastelein’s death in 1714, the 200 individuals who had lived their lives in slavery on the pepper plantation of Depok (West Java) begot their freedom, as well as collective control over the land. This exceptional and relatively unknown story of humanism, slavery, and landownership was the topic of the seminar Depok: A Story of (Im)material Heritage of Slavery, which took place at the IISH on the 22nd of July 2025. 

From June 30 to July 2, 2025, the CLARIAH Digital Heritage and Humanities Summer School was held at the IISH.

On April 11, 2025, collaborative projects between the IISG and Radboud University organized the symposium Colonial Archives, Slavery History, and Ancestral Research.

On Monday, April 14, a knowledge session on the impact of emigration was held at the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam, featuring the documentary Westlanders in Australia. 

On March 21, the International Day Against Racism and Discrimination, the National Coordinator on Discrimination and Racism traveled through the Netherlands! Nadia Moussaid, Jerry Afriyie and others exchanged ideas and considered solutions. IISH director Leo Lucassen read a column, which can be read here.

De documentaire Illuminando de Indische Buurt, gemaakt door filmmakers Anna Dabrowska en Alessandra Laitempergher, ging in première in een volle zaal in het IISG in Amsterdam. De documentaire vertelt over de snelle transformatie van de Indische Buurt, gezien door de lens van de kleurrijke Super Sint Maarten Parade. Na de vertoning vond er een gesprek plaats over de geschiedenis en de toekomst van de Indische buurt.

What is freedom? This was the question Rienke Enghardt of the collective arts organisation Hopebox (HBX) raised at the creative Kite of Transformation gathering about Iran on 24 June. Participants were allowed to draw their answers on a large kite using personal example resulted in an impressive collective artwork, which is now part of the current IISH exhibition Meet Rosa Luxemburg.

On 6th March 2024 the IISH organized the first part the series Palestine in Focus in which it discusses the role of boycotts in addressing historical injustices.

On the 13th March 2024 the IISH organized in collaboration with the Moscow Times an event to reflect on Russia's presidential elections, past, present and future.

In October 2023 the IISH organised together with artist Pieter Paul Pothoven an open collection event about the history of the notorious Dutch action group RARA.

Cruquiuseiland maakte de laatste jaren een transformatie door van industrieterrein naar (luxe) woonwijk. Dit heeft ook gevolgen voor de Openbare Werkplaats die daar al jaren zit, die een professionele werkruimte biedt aan meubelmakers, metaalbewerkers en kunstenaars. Anna Dabrowska, filmmaker en buurtbewoner, maakte hier een korte film over.

The Symposium ‘Otto and Hermina Huiswoud: Modern Black Diasporic Radicals’ took place on the 8th and 9th of September in 2023 in Amsterdam. It was organized by Small Axe, The Black Archives, The International Institute of Social History (IISH) and the Research Center for Material Culture.