Monologue or dialogue? Perspectives of development and cooperation, Eurocentrism and solidarity
The power hierarchies within development and cooperation are rooted in the ‘civilisational’ mission of colonial times and are the centre of criticism ever since the occurrence of activists and decolonial movements. The “Global North” is furthermore pursuing its own interests through “Development Cooperation”.
The development work of German non-governmental organisations with regard to Asian countries is affected by the colonial past, resistance and liberation struggles of Asian societies, as well as the continuation of political and economic dominance structures of the post-colonial present.
Non-governmental organisations and other actors of state funded and non-governmental Development Cooperation are striving for more equality, as well as for communication and cooperation on an equal footing. However, a fundamental change has not materialised to date.
How can equal rights within practical cooperation under the influence of existing political and economic power structures be facilitated? How can colonial power structures, that are lingering in impressions, convictions and practices be reflected critically and transformed within the framework of a new cooperation? What role does racism and critical whiteness play?
We, the engaged people of the civil society and corresponding organisations, are encouraged to promote a rethinking within our profession. For the 9th Asientag we would like to invite you to take a critical look at one’s own “developmental” position to reflect upon Eurocentric perspectives and break down existing power relations.
We would like to invite you to participate in our live-discussions and virtual workshops.
Monika Schlicher (Stiftung Asienhaus)
Mirjam Overhoff (philippinenbüro e.V.)
Nataly Jung-Hwa Han (Korea Verband)
When & where?
- November 13th, 2021 from 09.30 to 18.00, online
- Registration:
The registration for the 9th Asientag will take place personalised, for every event individually and online only. Please use the links to get to the Zoom registration pages for our events. We want to advise you to install the latest version of the Zoom client via the Zoom Download Centre prior to participating.
The registration links will be made available in a timely manner. - For any questions you may have, please contact the Stiftung Asienhaus via email at asientag(at)asienhaus.de or via telephone on +49-221-71612113.
Welcoming and keynote 09.30 to 10.00
Eric Gutierrez: Decolonialisation and the long way from charity to solidarity
Workshops I 10.15 to 11.30
West Papua: Conflict, marginalisation and racism
The conflict in West Papua is marked by violence, violation of human rights and marginalisation of the indigenous people of Papua. In 2019, police violence and racist abuse towards students from Papua led to nation-wide demonstrations and protests. In 2020 the #PapuanLivesMatter movement drew attention to racism in Papua. The spiral of violence in West Papua, however, continues to escalate, creating implications for the human rights situation. What is the link between conflict and causes of racial discrimination of Papuans? How does it manifest? What approaches towards conflict and discrimination are there?
Veronica Koman (Human Rights Lawyer in exile),
Rosa Moiwend (Activist from Papua),
Andreas Harsono (Human Rights Watch)
Moderation: Rina Yanike Krebru (Evangelical Church in Papua)
Workshops II 12.00 to 13.15
Indigenous, postcolonial and digital feminism
Over the past decades, a variety of feminist currents on the topics Equal Pay and working conditions, LGBTIQ rights, single mothers and migrants, beauty mania, as well as the MeToo movement against sexual violence have developed in South Korea and (Northeast) India. With particular regard to digitalisation, we would like to examine similarities and differences.
Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty (Journalist, National Affairs Editor, The WIRE/India),
Ga-Eul Baek (Activist Against Digital Sexual Violence, Seoul National University)
Moderation: Dahye Yim (Korea Verband & London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Colonial continuity!? – Philippine cultural objects and European museums
As part of provenance research, museums and other institutions have committed themselves to the determination of their object’s origins from their emergence until their contemporary repository. Where does colonial injustice begin? How do persisting colonial structures affect communities where these objects originate? The Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in cooperation with a multitude of actors has set out to start this process. Amongst others, it’s working together with the project Mapping Philippine Material Culture. The objective of this cooperation is to explore and reveal Philippine collections outside of the Philippines.
Dr Cristina Martinez-Juan (Research Management, Mapping Philippine Material Culture),
Sonja Mohr (Expert Insular Southeast Asia, Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum)
Moderation: Mirjam Overhoff and Hannah Wolf (philippinenbüro e.V.)
Workshops III 14.15 to 15.30
Institutions and their colonial heritage – on rearranging memories
Museums are at the centre of a debate about the handling of colonial objects, that has increasingly grown louder. What does decolonialisation mean? What measures are institutions, that remain entangled in colonial exploitation and a history of violence, taking to get rid of colonial structures? What criticisms are offered by civil society groups? And what perspectives and concepts can be provided through science to better understand the negotiating processes within the framework of decolonialisation? We would like to discuss these questions with a focus on Southeast Asia.
Dr. Stephen A Murphy (Lecturer for Curation and Museology of Asian Art, SOAS London),
Bonnie Triyana (Historian, Commission for Restitution and Provenance Research of Indonesian Cultural Assets in the Netherlands)
Moderation: Sophia Hornbacher-Schönleber (südostasien Magazin)
Myanmar and Thailand: protest movements, repression and solidarity
In February 2021 the military in Myanmar overthrew the democratically elected government. In Thailand the military seized power in 2014. The people of both countries met these developments with different forms of resistance. We want to talk about the situation in these countries, the changes of the past years, as well as the similarities and differences within the repression and protest movements. At the same time, we would like to examine possibilities to carry out solidarity work in and from Germany: What can be done? How can people in Germany participate and what will the effects be?
Praphakorn Lippert (University of Passau and Coordinator of the Network of Thai Workers in Europe),
Ohnmar Khin (Student of Politics and Sociology, Activist),
Sai Sam Kham (Civil Society Activist)
Moderation: Henri Myrttinen (Researcher for Gender and Conflict)
Performance 17.30 to 18.00
Lecture Performance “Snare for Birds”
17.30 to 18.00
In Snare for Birds the artists Lizza May David (Berlin), Kiri Dalena (Manila) and Jaclyn Reyes (New York) interact and intervene with Philippine colonial photography located in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne. Over the course of their lecture performance, insight into their artistic research will be provided and questions that were raised along the process will be shared.
Kiri Dalena (Filmmaker and visual artist),
Lizza May David (Astist),
Jaclyn Reyes (Visual Artist and Designer)
We would like to thank the following partners for their friendly support
Engagement Global on behalf of
A joint event of Stiftung Asienhaus, philippinenbüro e.V. and Korea Verband.
