A delegation from the University of Guyana travelled to Suriname from 06 to 10 June to take part in an international conference organised by Suriname's Anton de Kom University on slavery, engagism and the impact of immigration on contemporary societies.
Baba en Mai", Kleine Combeweg
G hanks to the support of the BRI (Bureau des Relations Internationales), a delegation from the University of Guyana, made up of teacher-researchers Agnès Clerc-Renaud and Marianne Palisse from the DFR LSH, as well as two doctoral students, Marquisar Jean-Jacques and Alex Greene, had the opportunity to take part in a major conference organised by the Anton de Kom University in Suriname. The conference focused on the consequences of slavery and immigration in contemporary societies. The aim of the event was to commemorate a number of important events for Suriname, including :
- The 170th anniversary of Chinese immigration
- The 170th anniversary of Portuguese immigration
- The 160th anniversary of the abolition of slavery
- The 150th anniversary of Indian immigration
Active participation
The symposium began on 6 June 2023, just after the President of India visited Paramaribo to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers. The opening speech was given by the President of the Republic of Surinam. For four days, researchers from all over the world met in person and sometimes by videoconference, with notable representation from Guyana, the United States, India, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Germany and the Netherlands.
Members of our university delegation took part in this symposium, giving a number of talks on cultural and religious issues and the movement of people on the Guiana Shield. In particular, they discussed the Kali'na territory in the lower Maroni, the Hmong diaspora on the Guiana Shield, as well as the migration of Haitians and their movement between French Guiana, Surinam and Brazil.
Collaboration and reflection on research in the humanities and social sciences
It should be noted that this colloquium was an opportunity for fruitful dialogue between delegations from the University of Guyana and their Surinamese counterparts, such as Jack Menke, Kirtie Algoe and Maurits Hassankhan. The Department of Training and Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences (DFR LSH) at the University of Guyana plans to work with them to set up international training projects as part of the AIBSI (Amazon Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainable Innovation).
The presence of Ms Evilania Bento da Cunha from the Federal University of Amapá, Oiapoque campus (Brazil), enabled a tripartite exchange to be set up that would be conducive to envisaging collaboration between the courses offered by these three universities on the Guyana Plateau. It also encouraged reflection on the construction of a research network in the humanities and social sciences.
