Shoulder to Shoulder during the National Commemoration of the History of Slavery

On Wednesday 1 July 2026, the 24th edition of the National Commemoration of Slavery takes place. During the commemoration ceremony, we reflect together on the abolition of Dutch trans-Atlantic slavery in Surinam and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten.

Six speakers will take the floor and wreaths will be laid. This year’s central theme of the ceremony is Shoulder to Shoulder. With this theme we call on everyone to keep standing side by side, even when we think or experience things differently. Standing shoulder to shoulder means listening, making room for different stories and not letting go of one another. In this way, remembrance is not a single moment but a shared task, in which we give meaning to the past and build the future together.

The ceremony takes place from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at the National Slavery Monument in the Oosterpark in Amsterdam and is open to all. The National Commemoration is broadcast live on NPO1 by the NOS. The National Commemoration of Slavery is organised by the Slavery Memorial Committee in collaboration with the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee).