Since the first occupation of the islands, hurricanes and the devastation of coastal areas have significant ecological and social implications for the (Dutch) Caribbean. These are deeply impacting the basic living conditions (water, food, shelter-nexus/WFS-nexus) and heritage of the island inhabitants. This requires immediate action! Island(er)s at the Helm builds on the principle that local-specific practices and ontologies of Caribbean societies are crucial for promoting sustainable WFS-nexus solutions. The project brings together researchers and societal partners to employ a mixture of technical, traditional, and contemporary knowledge practices for studying climate change adaptation through a long-term perspective. Five inter-related work packages studying the WFS-nexus of the island(er)s will adopt a transdisciplinary research design including: archaeology, paleoecology, (paleo)ethnobotany, social-cultural anthropology, visual arts, performance arts, political science, urban design, urban planning, governance and policy sciences, legal studies, architecture, and civil engineering.
A trans-Atlantic academic platform will be developed fostering research-based education on climate challenges for the six islands. Moreover, a regional expertise center on climate challenges, where the Dutch Caribbean researchers can find employ, is one of the end objectives of this programme. This center will be jointly managed by the University of St. Martin, University of Curaçao, University of Aruba, and the Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute. These institutions have committed to working towards this integration by offering joint courses in cooperation with institutes in the region and the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Island(er)s at the Helm is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Caribbean Research programme.
Depending on the area of research, project members will be hosted at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, the University of Curaçao, or the University of St. Martin.
The intended start of the project is September 2021.
Dr. Francio Guadeloupe (chair), UvA/KITLV. Francio Guadeloupe is a senior researcher and staff member of the KITLV. A Social & Cultural Anthropologist by training, Dr. Guadeloupe has worked at all the major universities in the Netherlands. He served for four years as the President of the University of St. Martin (USM), until hurricane Irma led to the temporary closure of the institution on the bi-national island of Sint Maarten and Saint Martin. Read More.
Prof. dr. Corinne L. Hofman (co-chair), LU/KITLV. Corinne L. Hofman is PI of the CaribTRAILS project at the KITLV, which receives funding from the NWO Spinoza prize awarded to her in 2014. She is also Professor of Caribbean Archaeology at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. From 2013 to 2019, Hofman was the CPI of the ERC-Synergy project NEXUS1492. Read More.
Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez (co-applicant), USM. Antonio Carmona Báez is a Puerto Rican political scientist specialised in International Relations and the Political Economy of Development. In 1994, he received a BA from Middlebury College, Vermont, USA where he studied International Politics and Spanish and Latin American Literature. Thereafter, he pursued his graduate degree (MA) in International Relations at the University of Amsterdam. In 2002, he earned his doctorate degree from the same university in International Relations, upon having written his dissertation Global Trends and the Remnants of Socialism: Socio-economic and Political Restructuring in Cuba. Read More.
Prof dr. ir. Filomeno A. (Boey) Marchena (co-applicant), UoC. Filomeno (Boey) Marchena is UNESCO professor in Sustainable Water Technology at the University of Curaçao.
JANUARY 2021 – On January 7th Minister van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science of The Netherlands announced that the project Island(er)s at the Helm: Co-creating sustainable and inclusive solutions for social adaptation to climate challenges in the (Dutch) Caribbean is one of two projects awarded with funding from the NWO Caribbean Research programme. The Island(er)s at the Helm project is chaired by Dr. Francio Guadeloupe (University of Amsterdam/KITLV), with co-applicants Prof. dr. Corinne L. Hofman (Leiden University/KITLV), Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez (University of St. Martin), and Prof. dr. ir. Filomeno A. (Boey) Marchena (University of Curaçao). Read more.
APRIL 2020 – In preparation of a proposal for the Dutch Research Council’s (NWO) call for Caribbean multi-disciplinary research, Corinne Hofman (LU/KITLV) and Francio Guadeloupe (UvA/KITLV) visited the six Dutch Caribbean islands together with a team of researchers and societal partners to discuss their proposal on social adaptation to climate change challenges in the (Dutch) Caribbean with local stakeholders. Read more.
NWO Onderzoeksmagazine, rubriek Opgemerkt door Carel Stolker, ‘Klimaatadaptatie in de (voormalige) Nederlandse Cariben‘, 15 April 2021
Universiteit Leiden, ‘Embedding scientific research in the Caribbean with funding from NWO‘, 17 February 2021
24 Ora, ‘PROGRAMA “ISLEÑONAN NA TIMON” A HAYA FONDO DI E PROGRAMA DI INVESTIGACION CARIBENSE ‘NWO’‘, 11 February 2021
Visit Aruba News, ‘Island(er)s at the Helm awarded funding from NWO‘, 10 February 2021
The Daily Herald, ‘Island(er)s at the Helm awarded funding from NWO‘, 10 February 2021
Curacao Chronicle, ‘Island(er)s at the Helm awarded funding from NWO‘, 10 February 2021
Saba-News, ‘“Island(er)s at the Helm” awarded with funding from the NWO Caribbean Research Program‘, 9 February 2021
UNESCO Nederland, ‘Miljoenensteun voor onderzoek naar erfgoed en klimaatverandering in de Cariben‘, 15 January 2021
The Daily Herald, ‘Guadeloupe to co-chair research into climate resiliency at USM‘, 11 January 2021
Sint Maarten Agriculture, ‘Caribbean Research Program Chair assigned to Francio Guadeloupe‘, 9 January 2021
SXM Talks, ‘Caribbean Research Programme chair assigned to Francio Guadeloupe‘, 9 January 2021
Saint Martin News Network, ‘Caribbean Research Programme chair assigned to Francio Guadeloupe‘, 9 January 2021
Paradise FM, ‘7 miljoen euro voor Caribische projecten‘, 7 January 2021
Universiteit van Amsterdam, ‘Grote impuls voor Uva-onderzoek in Cariben‘, 7 January 2021
Saba-News, “Caribbean Research Program receives boost of more than 7 million euros“, 7 January 2021
NWO, “Island(er)s at the Helm awarded with funding from the NWO Caribbean Research programme“, 7 January 2021
Project Newsletter, “Island(er)s at the Helm Public Outreach Seminars“, 31 March 2020
Xiomara Balentina, “The Western University in ‘Exotic Spaces’“, March 2020
Radiostation Nos Mainta interviews Francio Guadeloupe, Corinne Hofman, and Harold Kelly, March 2020 (01:06:38)
Amigoe, ‘Leren van tradities om weerbaarder te worden bij klimaatverandering‘, 14 March 2020
Amigoe, ‘Onderzoek naar impact klimaatverandering op erfgoed‘, 12 March 2020
24ora.com reports ‘Museo arkeologico a duna charla con antropologia y arkeologia ta combina cu cambio climatico‘, 12 March 2020
24ora.com, ‘Seminario Consultivato Na Mana Riba Rentonan Di Cambio Di Clima Den Caribe’, 11 March 2020
Saba News, ‘Discussion on “Sustainable Solutions for Climate Challenges in the Dutch Caribbean”‘, 6 March 2020
The Daily Herald, ‘Post-coloniality and decoloniality central at academic symposium‘, 29 February 2020
The Daily Herald, ‘USM to host researchers of climate change vulnerability’, 28 February 2020
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Island(er)s at the Helm is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Caribbean Research programme.
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