Annual Meeting of the German-Jamaican Society from Oct. 17th - 19th, 2025 at the AZK in Königswinter

Cooperation Partner: Arbeitnehmerzentrum Königswinter

The provisional working title of the conference was “Redemption – Jamaica and its Blue Mountains.”

In one of his last songs, Bob Marley, who died 44 years ago, called upon his fellow Jamaicans to seek “redemption.” He understood this to mean overcoming the trauma of slavery for the island's population of African descent. Today, discussions are underway regarding a republic as a form of government, the nature of Jamaica's membership in the Commonwealth, and reparations for slavery. Since independence in 1962, the country's image has been shaped by urban centers with their infrastructure, mining, and tourism, rather than by the colonial plantation economy. This development has thus far barely affected the island's mountainous region, the Blue Mountains. However, social tensions persist, and therefore many Jamaicans aspire to emigrate to Europe and North America. There, the issue of migration has recently sparked heated debates. Against this backdrop, the German-Jamaican Society (GJS) will be focusing its annual conference at the AZK on a country caught between environmental protection and current development policy debates.

The conference program can be downloaded here.