Two local non-profit organisations, Lëtz Rise Up and Richtung 22, have announced that they are launching a campaign called “Decolonise Luxembourg!”.
The two non-profits are joining forces in a campaign which includes guided tours through the Grand Duchy's hidden colonial past.
While the Richtung 22 artist collective had been carrying out research on Luxembourg’s colonial past for several months, teaming up with the anti-racism feminist non-profit Lëtz Rise Up has materialised this process in the form of guided tours through Luxembourg City.
According to the non-proftis, Luxembourg’s colonial history has been hidden for a long time and is still little known to the general public. Although the Grand Duchy was not a colonial empire as such, people from Luxembourg nevertheless took an active part in colonisation, particularly in the Belgian Congo. However, Luxembourg’s influence extended beyond this single African country.
The campaign initiators maintained that several decades after the announced end of colonisation, the stigma of this part of history is still visible in the public space, notably in Luxembourg's capital. During a one-hour tour, guides from Lëtz Rise Up and Richtung 22 will reveal vestiges of the colonial period that are at first sight invisible.
The first guided tours in English will take place on Friday 25 June 2021 at 19:00.
Those interested in participating should register using the form on letzriseup.com or richtung22.org.
Additional tours will be offered, subject to demand.
A smartphone application will be launched this summer, allowing everyone to take this walk on their own, guided by GPS.
