The Dutch can contribute ideas about new national slavery museum in Amsterdam

In the coming months, Dutch people will be able to contribute their ideas on the content and location of the new national slavery museum in Amsterdam. To this end, several meetings will be organized in the capital, but also in other cities where the past of slavery plays a role, such as Groningen, Middelburg, The Hague, Rotterdam and Arnhem.

According to Amsterdam City Councilor Touria Meliani (Culture), it is important that "as large a group as possible" has a say about the museum. Interested parties can therefore also express their opinions and wishes about the museum, the building and the location online.

Last month, two of the three so-called quartermasters who are drawing up plans for the museum have already traveled to Suriname and the Caribbean part of the Netherlands to hold talks with descendants, administrators, and other stakeholders. This included discussions about what stories they would like to see reflected in the museum. "These often emotional conversations were impactful and once again emphasized the urgency of the museum's arrival to address and reflect the past," Meliani said.

Based on the work of the quartermasters, the municipality and the national government will make a final decision on the construction and funding of the museum, which will address and provide space for the entire transatlantic slavery past. It was previously revealed that nine sites are being considered in the capital and that the museum will have 6,500 square meters of public space and be surrounded by a park. The Sixhaven and Kop van Java Island are two of the possible locations, according to NH Nieuws.

Two of the three quartermasters made a trip to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and Suriname last month to talk to different stakeholders about the content of the planned museum, according to NH Nieuws. “The trip has provided an important foundation to build on in the advent of the slavery museum,” Meliani told the radio station.

The quartermasters are expected to make a recommendation on the content and appropriate location of the museum by the end of 2023.