On Saturday, August 16, Hotel Maria Kapel is organising a remembrance activity centred around the decolonial Indonesia–Netherlands commemoration and celebration, with special attention given to the Indonesian, Moluccan, Indo-African, Papuan, and Indo-European communities. The afternoon aims to create space for reflection and reconnection within these communities by collectively creating a shared timeline.
📅 Practical information
Date: Saturday, August 16
Time: 14:00 – 18:00
Cost: Free (registration required)
Why this remembrance?
The history between Indonesia and the Netherlands has many sides. Everyone who has been connected to this colonial history in some way sees it through their own lens. Because this history is so layered, it is all the more important to create a moment where all perspectives can coexist. With this event, we aim to strengthen connections within and between the different communities and to make shared stories visible by opening up space for dialogue and recognition.
Are you part of one of the communities mentioned above? Do your (grand)parents come from Indonesia, Papua, the Moluccas, or the former Dutch East Indies? Do you want to attend and share a piece of your history with us? If so, please register! Places are limited. Send an email to: ayunda@hotelmariakapel.nl, briefly explaining your roots, your age, and which generation you belong to.
Programme
14:00 – 14:30 Walk-in with coffee and spekkoek (Indonesian layer cake)
14:30 – 17:15 Creating a collective timeline (including break)
17:15 – 18:00 Closing with Indo snacks
18:00 End – optional travel to the Decolonial Indonesia–Netherlands Remembrance at Olympiaplein, Amsterdam Zuid (19:30 – 21:00)
The conversation will be facilitated by Wouter Daniel Neuhaus.
🧐 Additional information
Why in Hoorn?
This remembrance activity is being held in Hoorn, a city with a deeply rooted colonial history. Hoorn played a significant role in the colonisation of, among others, the Indonesian archipelago. The traces of this history are still visible in the city’s streets, monuments, and collective memory. By organising this remembrance in Hoorn, we are creating space for these stories to be heard, shared, and acknowledged, especially in a place where colonial history has often been told from the perspective of the coloniser.
Why August 16?
The remembrance takes place on August 16 because it marks the moment of silence between August 15 (the official commemoration of the end of the war in the Dutch East Indies) and August 17 (Indonesian Independence Day). This in-between day is a space for reflection, between remembrance and celebration. It is a symbolic moment where different truths, perspectives, and emotions can exist side by side: sorrow, pride, confusion, recognition, and connection.
This event is supported by:
The image detail to promote this day comes from the following:
Commemorative postage stamp issued in Indonesia following the 1955 Bandung Conference (Wikimedia Commons)
The 1955 Bandung Conference was the first summit of world leaders without the West. Many important figures of decolonisation attended, representing more than half the world.