About the lecture
Asian Dutch people experience as much racism as other people of color in the Netherlands. This issue receives little attention, because, among other things, they are often labeled as 'model minority'. In 2024, a comprehensive research report on the racism faced by Asian Dutch has been published for the first time.
The keynote lecture will be delivered by Rev Dr Septemmy E. Lakawa, titled Unraveling Racism: The Intercultural and Multidirectional Narrative of ‘Othering’ from an Indonesian Woman’s Perspective. Lakawa will reflect on racism from a theological standpoint, both in the Indonesian and Dutch contexts. After her lecture, biblical scholar Dr Marilou S. Ibita, and spiritual caretaker Rev Otto Ruff will respond to Lakawa’s insights.
About the Speakers
- Rev Dr Septemmy E. Lakawa is professor and former rector at Jakarta Theological Seminary in Indonesia. Her expertise lies in the fields of missiology, feminist theology, and trauma theology. Among her research interests are the trauma experienced by Papuan women and the racism they experience.
- Dr Marilou S. Ibita is associate professor at De La Salle University in Manilla, Philippines. Her research interests and publications include interpreting and recontextualising biblical narratives using contextual biblical interpretation and methodologies (liberationist, feminist, postcolonial, against anti-Judaism, trauma, ecological, future-oriented, and sustainability hermeneutics).
- Rev Otto Ruff is spiritual caretaker, former minister of several Moluccan congregations in the Netherlands, and is one of the founders of Samen Kerk in Nederland (SKIN). In the 1990s, Ruff was part of the project group Pluriform Society of the Reformed Church. In this capacity, he provided antiracism training for young ministers and co-authored And God saw that it was very good… Racism is sin.
Time and location
The lecture will take place at VU Amsterdam (3D) on Friday the 15th of November. The lecture will start at 19:30, doors open at 19:00. The lecture will be finished by 21:30. It is also possible to follow the lecture online via livestream.
One of the responses will be in Dutch. English translations will be available.
Organisation
The annual Dom Hélder Câmara Lecture in contextual biblical interpretation is named after the Brazilian liberation theologian and bishop Dom Hélder Câmara. It connects the Bible with contexts both inside and outside the Netherlands. This creates new perspectives on both Scripture and these contexts. The lecture is organised by the Center for Contextual Biblical Interpretation (PThU/VU) and is supported by Kerk in Actie and the Arminius Institute.
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