Annual Meeting of the German-Jamaican Society from 14. – 16. Oct. 2022 im AZK in Königswinter

The working title of the DJG conference this year was: „Colonization in reverse“ - 60 Years of Independence  in Jamaica

The 60 years of independence from the former colonial power England were honored with many events in Jamaica last year. At the same time, the relationship between the 90% African population and Europe, North America and, of course, the old homeland of Africa is extremely complex and anything but simple. With her poem "Colonization in reverse", the poet and cabaret artist Louise Bennett-Coverly, who made the Jamaican patois socially acceptable on the island under the stage name "Miss Lou" and also worked for the BBC in England for a long time, expressed in a unique way the ambivalent relationship of the Global South to the former colonial masters. The topic includes colonial exploitation as a source of wealth for today's industrialized nations on the one hand and on the other hand the difficulties that people from the Global South still have to experience in this country if they are looking for a future with us. This has been particularly evident recently in England, where many of the first immigrants, the "Windrush generation", have been exposed to great injustices, not all of which have been eliminated to this day. Diplomatic relations between Jamaica and Germany, on the other hand, tended to be overshadowed by the "cold war" and "development aid" as a means of foreign policy. In this area, too, a critical review should take place at the conference.