Advice on Monument to The Hague's Slavery Past and Colonial Heritage

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Location: Lange Voorhout, The Hague
When: 30 January 2023

The Lange Voorhout - opposite the former winter - opposite the former winter palace of Queen Emma is the most appropriate place for the Monument to The Hague's Slavery Past and Colonial Heritage. This is the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Monument to The Hague's Slavery Past and Colonial Heritage. The presentation of this advice to Alderman Mariëlle Vavier (Inclusion) took place on Monday 30 January 2023.

Download the full advice (in Dutch):
>> click here (pdf)

The city council previously passed a resolution for two monuments, one for the history of transatlantic slavery and one for the colonial period in the former Dutch East Indies. The city council previously passed a resolution for two monuments, one for the history of transatlantic slavery and one for the colonial period in the former Dutch East Indies. This commission was assigned to Stroom Den Haag, after which Peggy Wijntuin, as project leader, began discussions with dozens of key figures and organizations in The Hague. This eventually resulted in the formation of the advisory board. The board's deliberations resulted in the choice of only one monument as a symbol of unification.

The advisory board sees the proposed site as 'a place of great symbolic value'. "The advisory board sees the proposed site as 'a place of great symbolic value'. "The advisory board sees the proposed site as 'a place of great symbolic value'. "With the Binnenhof (location of the Dutch parliament) and 'het Torentje' (office of the Dutch prime minister) in plain sight, the monument will be located in the historic and governmental center of the city. Moreover, two important royal sites are nearby: the former winter palace of Queen Emma and the royal working palace at Noordeinde. That the governmental and royal powers, both of which bear (in)direct responsibility for The Hague's slavery past and its colonial legacy, can be seen in the same view is of great symbolic and emotional value."

The advisory board established by Stroom Den Haag (installed on 1 September 2022) in recent months not only deliberated on the location and whether there should be one or more monuments, but also reflected on the profile of the artist. These recommendations get an important follow-up with the presentation of this report.