UGM’s Department of History held a cultural seminar entitled ‘Reclaiming Narratives of Colonial Objects: Recovering Histories and Dismantling Colonial Knowledge’ at the Soegondo Auditorium on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
This seminar brought together academics from Lombok to Amsterdam to examine the dark history of the Lombok War of 1894, during which violence and the mass looting of cultural artefacts belonging to the Mataram Kingdom took place. The discussion amongst the speakers was lively, as it brought together representatives from both sides—those from the colonised and the colonising powers.
“Don’t diversify, decolonise” was the main slogan featured at this event. The slogan emphasises that efforts to reclaim history are not merely about increasing the diversity of collections, but rather a shift in mindset from a narrative originally rooted in the colonisers’ perspective to a historical account belonging to the people themselves, as the colonised.
“We would like to express our gratitude to the University of Amsterdam, the Weltmuseum, the Ministry of Culture and the NWO for supporting this event and ensuring it ran smoothly,” said one of the history students who attended the event.
This seminar, which was open to the public, was well attended by academics, UGM and non-UGM students, and policy-makers. The high level of enthusiasm among participants demonstrated that this forum was not merely a standard academic discussion, but a concrete step towards supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on Quality Education, through the reconstruction of a more critical history curriculum. Furthermore, this event is also aligned with SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions through efforts at reconciliation and the upholding of historical justice regarding cultural heritage objects.
Author: Humas FIB, Zaidan Abdurrahman
