Journalist and author Bòi Antoin has built up an extensive collection of Bonairean cultural heritage on Bonaire in recent years. BEKU is a weekly two-hour radio program, on the air since 1985, first as Radiotopiko and since 2007 as BEKU. BEKU is broadcast at radio station Voz di Boneiru 94.7FM. The program provides a platform for the entire community to bring forward, discuss and exchange the state of local holistic culture and dynamic society. All programs are live streamed, recorded and can be viewed on facebook.

More information on the various collections captured by Bòi Antoin can be found here.

Journalist and author Boi Antoin has built up an extensive collection of Bonairean cultural heritage on Bonaire in recent years. Oral history has been recorded primarily through the program “Herensia” (Heritage). Many of these recordings are online.

Interviews have been conducted in Papiamentu. Dutch interviews were conducted in the collection Makambanan na Boneiru (Dutch on Bonaire). More information about the various collections recorded by Bòi Antoin can be found here.

The struggle for equal status and representation of women and men in Flanders is more than a century old. Great strides have been made, but we are not there yet. Using testimonies and archive footage, the four-part series ‘We, women’ outlines the evolution of the position of women in our society, both privately and in public life.

How have wrong expectations, upbringing, glass ceilings, discrimination, pressure, prejudice or other obstacles made it difficult for women to develop to their full potential in recent decades? For example, in the areas of upbringing, education, marriage, family, sexuality, work and politics. How have they dealt with this? What have action groups, politicians and individual women been able to change? And how do women experience all these obstacles today?

In ‘We, women’, women of all ages and walks of life tell their stories, together with politicians, figureheads of the women’s movement and former ‘Dolle Mina’s’. Their testimonies are illustrated with punishing archive footage. These are at times disconcerting and at other times funny stories about being brought up as a housekeeper, fighting to be allowed to study, the conquest of men’s professions, sexual taboos and men who still think they know better. The four episodes focus successively on sexuality, marriage and family, professional life and politics.

We, women’ uses the tried and tested formula of Children of…: the entire historical and current story is told by committed witnesses who look the viewer straight in the eye.

A surprising look behind the scenes of the struggle for women’s rights. Often stunning archive material that not least puts the sexism of our own public broadcaster on display. And eighteen women who draw you into their stories and leave you with deep respect.

Below is an overview of the 18 witnesses – or participants in Canvas’ documentary We, Women – arranged by age.

• Victoire Van Nuffel (1937): cycling champion and bar owner, openly lesbian at a time when that was anything but obvious.
• Nelly Maes (1941): politician who fought against sexism in politics and campaigned for women’s rights.
• Gerlinda Swillen (1942): Dutch teacher and VUB researcher, militant for equal pay for equal work.
• Ida Dequeeker (1943): emancipation official at VDAB, co-founded the Dolle Mina movement in Flanders and participated in the influential Vrouwen Overleg Komitee.
• Lieve Flour (1944): administrative assistant in the construction sector, grew up in a stifling traditional environment and overcame a humiliating marriage.
• Josette Franckson (1946): worker FN Herstal, involved in the legendary women’s strike at that factory in 1966.
• Margot Roggen (1948): administrative assistant in the insurance sector, often had to fight against male privilege and even overt discrimination as a child and later during her studies and at work.
• Marie Jeanne Declerq (1950): police commissioner, made a career in the male bastion of the Judicial Police.
• Liliane Versluys (1951): lawyer and visual artist, engaged in the Leuven refuge and published the controversial book Your Rights as a Woman (1987).
• Moniek Darge (1952): composer, was active in Dolle Mina and founded Vrouwen Tegen Verkrachting.
• Kati Couck (1954): ABVV staff member, active with Dolle Mina, founded abortion centre Kollektief Anticonceptie, started Vluchthuis Gent and organised self-defence courses for women.
• Linda Van Crombruggen (1960): former complaints coordinator VRT, testifies about sexism and sexual harassment in her own home.
• Khadija Zamouri (1967): politician, distanced herself from her conservative Moroccan Islamic milieu, became politically active with Open VLD, went to work on cabinets and became a Brussels MP.
• Leyla Yüksel (1971): became a gynaecologist with the full support of her parents and, in her own words, was more bothered by sexism among white doctors than Turkish patriarchs.
• Wendy Van den Heuvel (1978): administrative clerk and author, her mother was abused by her father. Recently, two male colleagues ambushed her on a dating site and shared her intimate photos. She left the company, but her experience inspired her to write a book.
• Pinar Akbas (1980): has mixed feelings about her Turkish upbringing, went to college and temporarily entered politics, is currently a nurse and published her autobiography Niran and me this year.
• Heleen Struyven (1988): worked as a lawyer at reputable firms, but noticed that sexism still exists there too. Yet she kept going for it… until she crashed.
• Romy Schlimbach (1995): was bullied for her looks in childhood, experienced an eating disorder, an admission and severe depression, but today she is a plus-size model and influencer: body positivity is the alternative she promotes to the stifling beauty ideal.

Indië in je Ziel are the personal stories of those who lived through it from the time of the Japanese occupation, and those who know its consequences as spouses, children, grandchildren and, yes, even great-grandchildren. How did the war and the East Indies affect their lives? From then to now. How does this make you feel? And what do you do with it?

Reason for the documentary project Indië in je Ziel was the expected great attention to the Indonesian war of independence in connection with the research results of the research programme Independence, decolonisation, violence and war in Indonesia, 1945 – 1950 of the Royal Institute of Language, Land and Ethnology (KITLV), the Netherlands Institute for Military History (NIMH) and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

The War Stories Foundation wanted to start a project in which the violence of that time is given a place in personal testimonies. Main questions are: How did the war and the East Indies affect your life? How does it make you feel? And what do you do with it?

War Stories Foundation is still collecting stories to be recorded under the same project name.

Themes include World War II, Japanese occupation, Indonesian revolution, reoccupation, internment camps, prisoners of war, migration, trauma.

Pia Media produced five TV broadcasts for Omroep MAX Indië in je Ziel in 2022 (in the final phase of the project) in which (some of) these interviews were used.

Indië in je Ziel

Five short documentaries by the War Stories Foundation portraying both Dutch East Indies and Indies veterans. It also shows how their experiences continue to have an impact on the second, third and sometimes even fourth generation: they too have the Dutch East Indies in their souls today.

The Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation conducted 17 interviews with young people whose family histories lie in former Dutch colonies as part of the Black under Orange project. After 13 interviews were conducted, a meeting was organised in which their stories were shared. Four more young people were then interviewed. A number of young people then embraced this initiative. Under the name Black x Orange, they organise various activities in which they link the colonial past to contemporary social themes such as remembrance, freedom and racism.

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1980 – 2017.
They mainly talk about the Netherlands. Themes include colonial history and influence
of family history on one’s own life.

Website Nusantara Amsterdam: https://nusantara-amsterdam.nl/

When Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation was established in 2006, it was decided to work with Zieraad Foundation to record the life stories of visitors to the session afternoons organised by Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation. Within this storytelling project, 11 interviews were conducted. Video and audio recordings of the interviews were made by Ben and Ineke Vink. 10 of the interviews formed the basis for the book Antara Nusa, life stories of elderly people from the East Indies/Indonesia (2018) compiled by Yvette Kopijn (Zieraad foundation) with the cooperation of Hanoch Nahumury, secretary of Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation and Armando Ello, photographer. During the writing process, several follow-up interview sessions were held of which no recordings are available.

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1930 – 2017. They mainly discuss Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, Ambon and New Guinea and the Netherlands.
Themes include colonisation, struggle for independence, Japanese occupation, World War II, Indonesian revolution, migration, RMS, upbringing, childhood, identity, class society, loss, displacement, uprooting, resilience, courage, racism.

Relevant links: Website Nusantara Amsterdam: https://nusantara-amsterdam.nl/
Facebook page Zieraad Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/StichtingZieraad/

Over the years, a lot has been written about settling and processing the end of the Dutch East Indies. The voice of the totoks (white Dutchmen) has been strikingly dominant in this. This book wants to offer the reader an alternative, multi-voiced perspective. It features elderly people of Indonesian, Moluccan, Timorese, Indonesian-Chinese and Surinamese descent.

WHAT IS ARCHIVO BONEIRU?
Journalist and author Boi Antoin has built up an extensive collection of Bonairean cultural heritage on Bonaire in recent years. The material is stored in a room measuring about six by four metres. The collection includes 20th-century photographs, video tapes, audio tapes, objects, books and documents. Although the material is not very old, storage conditions in Bonaire are far from ideal, so the deterioration in its material condition is easy to see.

Plataforma Kultural and Fundashon Historiko Kultural Boneriano have taken the initiative to have the existing material digitised and made accessible. They are collaborating with Regionaal Archief Dordrecht in the process. The National Archives advised and the Institute for Sound and Vision will include part of the collection in its catalogue.

Programme category:

Boneiru Ayera i Awe (Bonaire past and present): 460
Documentaries: 70
Herensia (Heritage): 1385
Herensia di Siglo (Heritage of the Ages): 85
Aki Boneiru: 446 (1981- )
Aktualidat: 38 (oug 2021- )
Beku (weekly radio programme): ±1000 (2007- )

The words “Tesi Samanunga” literally mean “this community” and are taken from a two-line verse found in the evangeliary (gospel book) of Munsterbilzen dating from the ninth century. This evangeliary is currently kept in the library of the Bollandists in Brussels under no. 299.
Of the two lines mentioned, one phrase is in Old Dutch and the other in Latin and reads as follows:
     “Tesi Samanunga vvas edele unde scona”.
     “& omnium virtutum pleniter plena”.

As this phrase is the oldest correctly dateable (1130) remnant of Dutch, we as a local history society are particularly proud to have been able to publish our journal under that name.

This journal regularly features edited interviews conducted by the Heemkring over the past 30 years.

The centenary (2013) of the Feestlokaal Vooruit and the thirtieth anniversary of the Arts Centre that is housed there will be an opportunity to make the rich material and immaterial heritage of the building, the socialist cooperative Vooruit and its cultural activities and the Arts Centre accessible to a broad public.

The promoters and external partners want to develop a rich ‘content’ by tracing, valorising and presenting tangible and intangible heritage in an accessible way. To this end, the documentary heritage preserved by AMSAB Institute of Social History and the Arts Centre is being explored. In addition, three oral history projects will be carried out on the history of the last half century of Vooruit.

They will be made available in the form of a website, mobile ICT applications in the Feestlokaal Vooruit, an exhibition in the STAM and a public book. The experience and know-how of external partners will be used for this.
The 100th/30th anniversary of Vooruit will undoubtedly appeal to a broad public and will also receive a lot of media attention. This project wants to anticipate this with a high-quality heritage project in which UGent historians, art historians, architects and multimedia engineers will contribute. It fits in the good neighbourhood in which Vooruit and UGent live ‘back to back’ and it will contribute to the image of UGent.

Behind the iconic façade of De Vooruit lies a rich history. A story of 100 years of trial and error.

de vooruit/geschiedenis

Werking van de coöperatie Vooruit from Geertjan Tillmans on Vimeo.

Rode cultuurbeleving in het feestlokaal van Vooruit tijdens het interbellum (1919
-1939) – Johannes Teerlinck

FOCUS OP DE PODIUMKUNSTEN

Rode cultuurbeleving in het feestlokaal van vooruit

Universiteit Gent, Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, Afdeling Geschiedenis (Nieuwste Geschiedenis), Academiejaar 2009

Journalist Leonard Ornstein interviews eight former board members and the current general manager of VNO-NCW to record their memories of the relationship between VNO-NCW and the trade unions from the 1980s to the present. The interviews are divided into 19 parts.