Free Heri Heri for All
Wednesday 1 July 2026
Each year we celebrate Keti Koti by taking part in Free Heri Heri for All, a nation-wide commemorative meal given freely to the public. Please come and join us for food, music and community.
ABOUT KETI KOTI
Keti Koti is an originally Surinamese Commemoration on 1 July. Keti Koti means “the breaking of chains” and symbolizes the end of slavery. On 1 July 1863, the Kingdom of the Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname and the former Netherlands Antilles with the Emancipation Act. However, it took until 1873 before actually all enslaved people were free. 1 July 2023 marked 150 years since then.
2026 HEIRLOOMS
This year’s theme is Heirlooms. What do you pass on, and what do you leave behind?
The illustration by Zenzy Blindeling, the campaign image for 2026, serves as the starting point. Jewellery as heirlooms. But we want to look beyond objects: which traditions, customs, stories or memories do you consider important enough to pass on? What have you consciously or unconsciously inherited? And what do you choose to leave behind?
ABOUT HERI HERI
Heri Heri is a traditional Surinamese dish consisting of cassava, plantains, sweet potatoes, fish, and eggs and was cooked by many enslaved people during the transatlantic slave trade. It is a symbol of remembrance and honors the ancestors. Free Heri Heri for All, founded by Arya and Ira Kip, aims to raise awareness about this historic day and foster community through a shared meal. In memory of the slavery past of the Dutch Kingdom and to connect the past with the present, throughout the country, the Surinamese dish Heri Heri can be eaten for free and together. In this way, the past is not forgotten and the promise of a more just future is possible.