This chair was established by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations on the initiative of its Directorate-General for Kingdom Relations (DGKR). It is intended to contribute to broad knowledge development and strengthen the knowledge function at DGKR. The chair will focus on generating more research, cooperation, synergy and spin-off within the academic field of kingdom relations.

Kingdom relations in practice

Guadeloupe underlines the importance of this chair: ‘Almost half of the people with a Dutch Caribbean background reside in the Netherlands. At the same time, the islands are home to thousands of Dutch citizens whose great-grandparents were born and raised in the Netherlands. This reality is bigger than the tensions between the politicians in The Hague and the politicians on the islands. We need to recognise that Kingdom relations in practice work out on a lower frequency than many policy makers are attuned to.’

Dutch Caribbean universities

The Ministry is pursuing the close involvement in the chairs of universities and researchers in the kingdom’s three constituent countries in the Dutch Caribbean. This will strengthen cooperation with these Dutch Caribbean universities, including through lecturer and researcher exchanges. ‘I want to focus on what is being done in the community and in politics to make the Kingdom of the Netherlands a more equal, fair and inclusive place for all. That is what I want to explore, together with the knowledge institutes on all six islands and in the Netherlands,’ Guadeloupe says.

Inestimable value

State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Alexandra van Huffelen welcomes this partnership with universities. She stressed the importance of reliable academic knowledge for improving cooperation within the kingdom. ‘A great milestone, especially in the year that we celebrate being connected in the kingdom for 70 years through the Charter,’ Van Huffelen said.