Of the 100 mil­lion euros the Dutch government made available for projects com­memorating and remembering the history of slavery, 33.3 million will go to the six Caribbean islands of the Kingdom, caretaker State Sec­retary of Kingdom Relations, care­taker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Hugo de Jonge and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hank Bruins Slot announced in a letter to the Dutch Second Cham­ber of Parliament.

The amount is divided into three parts: the other 66.6 million euros have been allocated for the Euro­pean Netherlands and Suriname. Separate, tailor-made regulations will be created for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and for Suri­name.

In a recent press release from the Dutch government, it was stated that the regulation dedicates spe­cific attention to promoting grass­roots organisations of descendants and involved communities. For ex­ample, they can further profession­alise and strengthen their organisa­tion with the use of a voucher.

Also, larger initiatives that work together with grass-roots organisa­tions or that include grass-roots or­ganisations in a project will receive a higher classification in the grant­ing of subsidies.

Furthermore, the regulation is meant for social initiatives that fo­cus on strengthening the commu­nities of descendants of enslaved people and the celebrating and expanding of their resilience. The regulation is also meant for larger projects that have a considerable impact on increasing the knowledge, awareness, rec­ognition, commemoration and tackling the continued effects of the slavery past.

It is expected that the regu­lation for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom will go into effect in the summer of 2024. Participation sessions will be organised in the coming months with representatives of the islands. These sessions are essential to incorporate the regional needs and in­sights in the broader pro­gramme. Islands’ residents can also actively participate in the preparation of the regulation for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom via an Internet consultation which is expected to commence late February, early March.

The regulation for Suri­name will be published at a later date. The aim is to still do so in 2024.

The Internet consultation for the regulation aimed at supporting social initiatives in the European Nether­lands will run from February 16 (see related story). People can respond to it in a time frame of 30 days through the website

https://www.internetconsul­tatie.nl/slavernijverleden. According to the press re­lease, major steps are being taken to further work out the apologies for the slavery past using an approach that cen­tres on participation.

In the past year, extensive discussions were held with a broad group of descendants and other involved persons. These discussions yielded valuable insights that will form the basis for policy. On the request of the ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, the bureau Tru­eTalk spoke with 270 descen­dants and directly-involved persons. Various dialogue

methods were utilised for this purpose, including in­dividual talks, round-table meetings and conversations in a natural setting, in the street or in cafeterias. The descendants’ communities were included in this effort.

Age, organisational and emotional involvement, cul­tural background and region­al spread were taken into consideration in selecting the discussion partners. The insights of the research make clear that, to this day, the consequences of the slavery past are especially felt in the social position of the com­munity in areas such as hous­ing, education and the labour market. There is a need for social initiatives that offer solutions to address that structural inequality. The commemoration is also seen as a means to work on a more equal society, it was stated in the press release.

The Daily Herald.