USM TO HOST MEETING ON ST MARTIN ARCHIVES AND HERITAGE PLATFORM

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - After hosting the Sint Maarten Advisory Committee on Slavery, Atonement and Reparations (ACSAR) Symposium on St. Martin Identity: Slavery, Labour and Migration on Friday, 1 December the University of St. Martin Science Research Institute (SSRI) continued to support initiatives which preserve our archives and heritage, and which facilitate further research for development of the people on our island.

In February, SSRI hosted a meeting with individuals and representatives of various organizations with an interest in St Martin’s heritage. On that occasion USM welcomed Dutch historians Prof. dr. Coen van Galen from the History Department of the Radboud University and Dr Johan van Galen from the National Archive of the Netherlands, to provide a presentation on their findings concerning the condition and the possibilities to preserve the available archives on St Martin, St Eustatius, and Saba.

Archives have a lot of historical valuable information for family research, research about developments on our islands. The meeting with the representatives of various organizations interested in preserving our heritage concluded that there is an urgent need for a National Archive on our island and to facilitate more research into the history of the people on our island.

On Tuesday April 23^rd from 17.30 pm – 19.00 pm in Room 200, USM will be hosting a next meeting with all persons and organizations interested in establishing a St Martin Archives & Heritage Platform.

What can we do together to promote the preservation and the research about the heritage of our people? The Tuesday meeting will be held just in time before the Dutch Caribbean Heritage 2024 conference, which will be held in May here on St Martin with the theme: Awareness! 

Those interested in attending are asked to send an email to USM Research Coordinator This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.