The Netherlands and Indonesia; researchers and arts come together in the Rijksmuseum

More than 25 Southeast Asian PhD students that study in the Netherlands, Belgium and England, willtake part in the conference "Governance and Sustainable Society in Southeast Asia”. The conference will take place from the 18th - 20th November in Amsterdam. Overall, more than 100 people from science, diplomacy, business and art are expected to join. A new book will be presented during the conference by the University of Groningen (RUG): Decentralization and Governance in Indonesia.

Guests include the former Dutch ambassador to Indonesia and World Bank official Mr. Rudolf Treffers, representatives of the World Bank and the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands. Led by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) a discussion will be held on a more intensive research relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Chair for Dr. Ron Holzhacker

During the conference, the Ubbo Emmius Fund and the University of Groningen announced that Dr. Ronald Holzhacker (Chicago 1961) is appointed as professor by special appointment to the Chair of ‘Comparative multi-level governance and regional structure’ at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. Dr. Holzhacker is the founder of the SInGA (Spirit Indonesia Groningen) research group that focuses on governance and sustainable society. The group currently consists of nine doctoral students from Indonesia, with a grant from the World Bank, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance and the Dutch NUFFIC program. The first book of the research group "Governance and Decentralization in Indonesia” (New York: Springer 2015) will be presented during the conference in the Rijksmuseum.

Panel discussions

The conference program also accommodates a wide range of panel discussions on various subjects in which the PhD students and other scientists will participate.

The conference is held partly at the Rijksmuseum in which the current exhibition ‘Asia in Amsterdam’ takes place. The author of the new, second part of the series of the Rijksmuseum (‘Gepeperd verleden’. Indonesia and the Netherlands since 1595), curator Harm Stevens, will be one of the speakers during the conference.

The conference is an initiative of the KNAW, the University of Groningen and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of the Erasmus University.

When: 18 - 20 November, 2015

Where: Academy and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

More information about the program