Dr. Coen van Galen received a cheque worth €25,000 and a bronze sculpture by artist Wil van der Laan. In addition to the sculpture and prize money, he is offered a workshop by the Lorentz Center.
Coen van Galen is an associate professor of Economic, Social and Demographic History at Radboud University and the initiator and project leader of the Historical Database of Suriname and the Caribbean (HDSC).
The HDSC is an international research project building an open digital infrastructure for historical, demographic and sociological research into colonial societies and their legacy in Suriname, the former Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands. In this project, historians, archivists, data specialists and volunteers in the Netherlands, Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean are working together to build this infrastructure. What makes the project unique is that all datasets created are immediately made available as open access to the public and researchers, based on the philosophy that this makes our shared past accessible to everyone.
As the jury of the Huibregtsen Prize put it: ‘Thanks to the initiative and dedication of Coen van Galen, a research infrastructure has been created that enables new scientific insights, directly involves many thousands of people in researching their shared history, and also contributes to a better-informed public debate on slavery and colonialism.’
We congratulate the winner and we are looking forward to organize a workshop with him.
Coen van Galen (left) and Henriette Jensenius (scientific manager Lorentz Center)
