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Belgian universities at the core of decolonization

par Goddeeris, Idesbald;Beyen, Marnix;Henriet, Benoît;Kanobana, Sibo;Tshibangu, Jean-Pierre;Landmeters, Romain;Licata, Laurent ;Zanoni, Patrizia
Référence Journal of Belgian History, 4, page (108-114)
Publication Publié, 2022-12-01

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

Over the past few years, calls for decolonization have addressed academia. They also reached Belgian universities.1 In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of June 2020, the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) and the (Francophone) Rector Council (CRef)2 decided to set up a joint ‘Interuniversity Working Group on the Colonial Past’, henceforth the Working Group. The Working Group was asked to reflect on the role universities can play in the decolonization of academia in particular, and of society in general. The Working Group consisted of one scholar for each participating university who each operated as a single point of contact with all relevant actors within his or her own institution. The Working Group’s ini- tial members authored this contribution.The Working Group started its activity by making an inventory of where the universities currently stand in dealing with Belgium’s colonial past and the broader themes associated with it today. This inventory supported further reflection offered by external experts from various countries’ regionsand disciplines.5 These in-depth conversations subsequently formed the basis for further internal reflection, resulting in the report titled Belgian Universities and the Dealing with the Colonial Past. In this contribution, we provide a brief summary of the inventory and the report.