The Atlantic World and the Dutch (AWAD): Atlantic Days

To celebrate the commencement of AWAD, an event named the Atlantic Day was held in the
National Library in The Hague on 15 April 2004 to introduce the project. Due to the popularity of this day, it became an annual event in the Netherlands and was a firm fixture on the cultural agenda. Consecutive gatherings were all hosted by NiNsee, the National Institute for Dutch Slavery and its Legacy, in Amsterdam.
The rationale behind the Atlantic Day has been to inform a wider audience of the aims and
development of the AWAD project, to present new and interesting studies on topics of relevance for the history of the Atlantic region and, last but not least, to strengthen contacts within the Dutch Atlantic network. Many experts, both from the Netherlands and abroad, were invited to present their ideas and in-depth analyses on relevant themes.
Thanks to the valuable cooperation between the partners, these events gave space for
reflection on themes relating to the Atlantic. They were also an occasion for gathering new information, discussing and exchanging opinions, obtaining feedback on the AWAD project and regularly meeting with individual experts and representatives of institutions that form part of the Atlantic network.
AWAD offered the infrastructure for the construction of a wide and open Atlantic network, allowing for spin-off effects in the form of other new initiatives focusing on the preservation and further development of the study of shared cultural heritage.

OBJECTIVES
To inform a wider audience of the aims and development of the AWAD project, to present new and interesting studies on topics of relevance for the history of the Atlantic region and, last but not least, to strengthen contacts within the Dutch Atlantic network.

RESULTS
Seven Atlantic Days:
* Atlantic Affairs, 15 April 2004, The Hague, National Library Netherlands;
* Guyana, the former Dutch colonies of Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo, 18 February 2005, Amsterdam, National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy;
* Military violence in the Atlantic in the Early Modern Time, 16 March 2006, Amsterdam, National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy;
* The legacy of slavery past, 14 December 2007, Amsterdam, National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy;
* Brazil, 13 June 2008, Amsterdam, National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy;
* The Atlantic World and the Dutch, 1500-2000. Op weg naar een nieuw samenwerking, 27 February 2009, Amsterdam, National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy;
* Marronage and Maroon communities: A Common Atlantic History? 1 April 2010, Amsterdam, Royal Tropical Museum;
* Programme Nederlanders en de inheemse bevolkingen van Amerika: een verborgen erfgoed (The Amerindian People and the Dutch: a hidden heritage), 28 september 2011, Leiden, Plexus;

See also:
Glenn Willemsen (Expert)
Frans Smit (Expert)
Herbert Klein (Expert)