Van Hout Birgit
UN Human Rights Regional Representative for Europe
Brussels | Belgium
Biography
Organisation
UN Human Rights Regional Office for Europe (OHCHR)
International organisation
Speaker session
Break-out session 4:
Examination of the past: restitution and decolonisation of public spaces
The discussion on structural racism also entails an examination of the past, present and future of the cultural fabric of Europe. The question of restitution of art and objects that were brought to Europe, often stolen, during European colonialism is a main part of this. Civil society in many European countries is demanding a decolonization of the public space. Demands entail, the removal of statues and the renaming of streets that honour former colonialists.
This ongoing debate is necessary, because it reveals historical continuities of colonialism and the racism which gave the ideological basis for it. In order to understand structural racism in Europe one therefore has to engage in European Colonialism as well.
Scene setting: Anne Wetsi-Mpoma, art historian, curator, author and gallery owner, Belgium/Congo
Moderation: Shanon Bobinger, Systemic Life-, & Business Coach/ Moderator/ Public Speaker, Germany
- Laura Nsengiyumva, artivist, Belgium
- Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA, Co-president of the ARDI Intergroup, Germany
- Timea Junghaus, Executive Director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and art historian and contemporary art curator, Germany
- Sheray Warmington, research fellow at the Center for reparation research of the University of the West Indies.
- Josefina Skerk, advocate for Sami Rights, a Member of the Sami Parliament and former Vice President, Sweden
- Malick Ndiaye Associate Professor in the Modern Languages and the African and African American Studies programs at Seattle University, France
- Ronny Naftaniel, Vice Chair CEJI
Warmington Sheray
Research fellow at the Center for reparation research of the University of the West Indies
Jamaica
Biography
Dr Sheray Warmington is the Research Fellow for the Centre for Reparation Research (CRR), University of the West Indies. Primarily focusing on post-colonial developing states, she has established a diverse research background. Her research interests thus lie in examining the legacies of slavery on development, state failure, security governance, gender equality and health in post-colonial developing states. As Research Fellow, Dr Warmington supports the CRR in building awareness and conducting research that will advance the claim for reparation for native genocide, African enslavement, colonialism and its legacies, in support of the Global Reparatory Justice Movement.
Organisation
Centre for Reparation Research, University of the West Indies
Academic
Speaker session
Break-out session 4:
Examination of the past: restitution and decolonisation of public spaces
The discussion on structural racism also entails an examination of the past, present and future of the cultural fabric of Europe. The question of restitution of art and objects that were brought to Europe, often stolen, during European colonialism is a main part of this. Civil society in many European countries is demanding a decolonization of the public space. Demands entail, the removal of statues and the renaming of streets that honour former colonialists.
This ongoing debate is necessary, because it reveals historical continuities of colonialism and the racism which gave the ideological basis for it. In order to understand structural racism in Europe one therefore has to engage in European Colonialism as well.
Scene setting: Anne Wetsi-Mpoma, art historian, curator, author and gallery owner, Belgium/Congo
Moderation: Shanon Bobinger, Systemic Life-, & Business Coach/ Moderator/ Public Speaker, Germany
- Laura Nsengiyumva, artivist, Belgium
- Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA, Co-president of the ARDI Intergroup, Germany
- Timea Junghaus, Executive Director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and art historian and contemporary art curator, Germany
- Sheray Warmington, research fellow at the Center for reparation research of the University of the West Indies.
- Josefina Skerk, advocate for Sami Rights, a Member of the Sami Parliament and former Vice President, Sweden
- Malick Ndiaye Associate Professor in the Modern Languages and the African and African American Studies programs at Seattle University, France
- Ronny Naftaniel, Vice Chair CEJI
Wetsi-Mpoma Anne
Art historian, curator, author and gallery owner
Bruxelles | Belgium
Biography
Anne Wetsi Mpoma is an art historian, independent curator and decolonial thinker. End 2019, she founded the Wetsi Art Gallery, a space based on the lack of visibility imposed on certain categories of artists. It is entirely dedicated to revaluing the artistic productions of the African diaspora at large. She was part of the group of experts from the African diaspora that the AfricaMuseum consulted to work on the new permanent exhibition. She was also a member of the group of experts who produced the first report of the federal parliamentary commission in charge of researching the Belgian colonial past.
Organisation
<p>Anne Wetsi Mpoma is an art historian, independent curator and thinker on decolonization. She is also the founder in 2009 of the non-profit organization Nouveau Système Artistique (N.S.A.). This association actively promotes social cohesion and awareness of the experiences of people from the South. It trains, realizes and supports arts and artists from the African diasporas in Belgium while creating bridges with the cultural actors of the African continent.</p><p>Anne Wetsi Mpoma demonstrates the importance of urban space as a territory of symbolic and literal struggle. Questions of the right to the city and the importance of identifying with it are crucial for marginalized communities. This is rooted in Anne Wetsi's research on colonial history and the invisibilization of certain narratives in transmission phenomena. The nomenclatures of the different public spaces are thought from historical contexts and actions. In fact, cities are a space of development of citizenship, it is then crucial to make it visible, and this is something that art allows. The decolonization of the urban space through art allows us to manifest and inform about the existence and importance of groups that have also participated in the construction of our cities.</p>
Speaker session
Break-out session 4:
Examination of the past: restitution and decolonisation of public spaces
The discussion on structural racism also entails an examination of the past, present and future of the cultural fabric of Europe. The question of restitution of art and objects that were brought to Europe, often stolen, during European colonialism is a main part of this. Civil society in many European countries is demanding a decolonization of the public space. Demands entail, the removal of statues and the renaming of streets that honour former colonialists.
This ongoing debate is necessary, because it reveals historical continuities of colonialism and the racism which gave the ideological basis for it. In order to understand structural racism in Europe one therefore has to engage in European Colonialism as well.
Scene setting: Anne Wetsi-Mpoma, art historian, curator, author and gallery owner, Belgium/Congo
Moderation: Shanon Bobinger, Systemic Life-, & Business Coach/ Moderator/ Public Speaker, Germany
- Laura Nsengiyumva, artivist, Belgium
- Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA, Co-president of the ARDI Intergroup, Germany
- Timea Junghaus, Executive Director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and art historian and contemporary art curator, Germany
- Sheray Warmington, research fellow at the Center for reparation research of the University of the West Indies.
- Josefina Skerk, advocate for Sami Rights, a Member of the Sami Parliament and former Vice President, Sweden
- Malick Ndiaye Associate Professor in the Modern Languages and the African and African American Studies programs at Seattle University, France
- Ronny Naftaniel, Vice Chair CEJI