The Netherlands prepares for Keti Koti, numerous festivities planned

In one week, on July 1, it will be exactly 150 years since slavery was effectively ended under Dutch rule. In the run-up to Keti Koti, the day to celebrate and commemorate the abolition of slavery, activities are taking place across the country.

Starting Tuesday, chefs in the kitchen of the Royal Palace at Dam Square in Amsterdam will prepare the Surinamese dish Heri Heri, which was eaten by enslaved people on the plantations. As part of Free Heri Heri For All, this dish will be distributed free of charge not only in Amsterdam but throughout the Netherlands.

On Tuesday evening, rapper and writer Akwasi will give the annual Anton de Kom lecture at the Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam. Each year, the lecture draws attention to intolerance and discrimination, as well as the history of minority groups and their position in Dutch society.

A day later, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister Hanke Bruins Slot (Interior and Kingdom Relations) will discuss the history of slavery with children at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. In the evening, the Keti Koti Lecture will take place in the presence of Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) at the Tropical Museum in Amsterdam. Trijntje Oosterhuis, Kenny B and Jeangu Macrooy will perform at Keti Koti in Concert at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam the same evening. Furthermore, The Hague’s Historical Museum will hold a meeting on the monument to the slavery past to be built in The Hague.

On Thursday, a wreath will be laid at the Mauritshuis to commemorate slavery in The Hague. On Friday, commemorative events will be held across the country, attended by ministers. For instance, finance minister Sigrid Kaag will attend a ceremony in Arnhem, Piet Adema (Agriculture) will attend one in Leeuwarden, and Karien van Gennip (Social Affairs) will attend a commemoration in Zoetermeer. Ministers Hanke Bruins Slot (Interior), Carola Schouten (Poverty Policy), and Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection)will be at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, where Dutch churches are jointly commemorating the abolition of slavery.

In Utrecht, the monument of Flight and Resistance will be unveiled on Friday, commemorating the slavery past of the Netherlands. Mayor Sharon Dijksma will also attend the unveiling in Griftpark. The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam will close on Friday with a commemorative concert. There, music will be played that was banned during slavery.