Congo Free State (1885-1908)

Revisit History: A Colonial Present - City Tour Antwerp, ACCES
Tour of Antwerp’s colonial heritage

Can you truly understand the present by looking at the past?

Revisit History is an educational concept at the intersection of education, heritage, and social change. Various formats invite participants to reflect on history, representation, power, and citizenship.

One of these formats is Revisit History: A Colonial Present. During a guided city tour in Antwerp along unexpected colonial heritage sites, young people are introduced to Belgium’s colonial past. They are encouraged to link historical structures to current societal issues.

Revisit History: A Colonial Present also offers other formats for young people, school groups, and teaching teams. Workshops, dialogue sessions, or reflective interventions are set up on request and tailored to specific needs. Students can also take part in the Impostor Game workshop, in which they critically examine kingship, capital, and missions.

Website ACCES
Revisit History Tour
Instagram
Place & period
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
Ruanda-Urundi (1919-1962)
DR Congo (1960-...)
Rwanda (1962-…)
Burundi (1962-…)
Theme
Governance
Decolonization
Economy
Heritage and memory
Propaganda
Racism
Diaspora
Violence
Independance
Education
Religion
Resistance
Type
Guided tour
Walk
Work of art
Workshop
Game
Organisation
Language
Dutch
Target audience
2nd stage secondary
3rd stage secondary
Duration
120 min.
Cover illustration of the educational dossier “Dekoloniseringshelden”
Children creatively (re)imagine the urban landscape

Are "artivists" hiding among the pupils in your class? 

This teaching package puts the spot on heroes of decolonization. Children critically reflect on colonial symbols and are introduced to figures such as Alice Seeley Harris, Patrice Lumumba, Sophie N'Kanza, and Romelu Lukaku. Who deserves recognition? Pupils also reimagine the urban landscape by designing new street names, statues, or posters.

This package complements the Traces of Colonization series (2018) developed by Studio Globo, but it can also be used independently.

Teaching materials 'Dekoloniseringshelden'
Teacher manual
'Traces of Colonization' (Studio Globo)
Place & period
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
DR Congo (1960-...)
Theme
Decolonization
Diaspora
Heritage and memory
Propaganda
Racism
Resistance
Type
Lesson package
Video
Workshop
Organisation
Year
2023
Language
Dutch
Target audience
Primary education
1st stage secondary
Duration
100 min.
Logo of the educational dossier “Sporen van kolonisatie”
A decolonial dive into the past for youngsters to better understand inequality today

How can children engage with the colonial past to discuss inequality today? Studio Globo explored this question together with diaspora representatives. The result? A rich and engaging teaching package!

Pupils first learn about the phenomenon of colonization. They then explore themes of power, wealth, science, and ideology using mind maps, exercises, photographs, audio clips, and film excerpts. Next, they examine stereotypical representations in children’s books, comics, advertisements, posters, and photographs – both past and present. Through an immersive role-playing game, students even experience the reality of racial segregation in 1950s Élisabethville (Lubumbashi).

Building on this 2018 teaching package, Studio Globo developed the extra module 'Decolonization Heroes' in 2023 with the City of Ghent. 

Discover teaching materials
Teacher manual
Extra module 'Decolonization Heroes'
Place & period
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
Theme
Governance
Decolonization
Diaspora
Economy
Heritage and memory
Education
Propaganda
Racism
Religion
Resistance
Type
Lesson package
Historical sources
Game
Workshop
Video
Audio
Testimony
Organisation
Year
2018
Language
Dutch
Target audience
Primary education
1st stage secondary
Duration
300 min.
Illustration for website e-classe.be
Resources on Belgian colonization for teachers of the French Community of Belgium

The e-classe platform of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FW-B) offers a set of subject-specific resources for teaching Belgian colonization in the classroom. It is organized around five themes: before colonization, the colonial period, colonial propaganda, collective memory, and opening dialogue.

Through a partnership with RTBF and SONUMA, the platform also provides audiovisual archives for classroom use (see also resource laplateforme.be).

Access to e-classe is restricted to teachers of the French Community of Belgium.

e-classe.be
Dossier sur la colonisation belge
Place & period
Precolonial (…-1885)
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
Ruanda-Urundi (1919-1962)
DR Congo (1960-...)
Rwanda (1962-…)
Burundi (1962-…)
Theme
Governance
Decolonization
Diaspora
Economy
Heritage and memory
Gender
Violence
Independance
Education
Propaganda
Racism
Resistance
Type
Video
Documentary
Historical sources
Database
Testimony
Lesson package
Organisation
Language
French
Target audience
1st stage secondary
2nd stage secondary
3rd stage secondary
Duration
N/A
Logo of website Laplateforme.be
Films and Documentaries from the Belgian French Community

Laplateforme.be is an online platform that promotes and distributes audiovisual works produced in the French Community of Belgium, across all genres and formats.

The entire catalog – more than 1,000 Belgian films produced since 1952 – is freely accessible to teachers from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (see also resource e-classe.be).

Several films and documentaries address the Belgian colonial episode in Burundi, DR Congo and Rwanda. Others delve into the former colonies' contemporary history, with echoes from the colonial past. Will you screen one of the movies or documentaries on offer in your class?

Laplateforme.be
Selection of works on (post)colonial history
Place & period
Precolonial (…-1885)
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
Ruanda-Urundi (1919-1962)
DR Congo (1960-...)
Rwanda (1962-…)
Burundi (1962-…)
Theme
Governance
Decolonization
Diaspora
Economy
Heritage and memory
Gender
Violence
Independance
Education
Propaganda
Racism
Religion
Resistance
Type
Video
Documentary
Movie
Database
Testimony
Organisation
Language
French
Target audience
1st stage secondary
2nd stage secondary
3rd stage secondary
Duration
N/A
Logo of the Collectif Mémoire Coloniale et Lutte contre les Discriminations (CMCLD)
Urban explorations across Belgium by guides with African roots

Some remnants of the colonial past are clearly visible, while others often go unnoticed.

In 2013, the Collective for Colonial Memory and the Fight Against Discrimination (CMCLD) launched “decolonial walks.” In several Brussels municipalities, guides of African descent shed light on the hidden histories behind buildings, monuments, street names, and commemorative plaques.

Over the years, the program has expanded to other places in Belgium, including Tervuren, Charleroi, Quaregnon, Namur, La Louvière, and Liège. Each walk offers a different – and often surprising – perspective.

More info
Discover walks on offer
Place & period
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
Theme
Decolonization
Diaspora
Heritage and memory
Propaganda
Racism
Type
Walk
Guided tour
Organisation
Language
French
Target audience
3rd stage secondary
Duration
60 à 120 min.
Image from the comic “L’histoire de la révolte de Tshamakélé”
A comic about an anti-colonial uprising in the Congo Free State

The population under colonial administration was far from passive. Throughout the colonial period, several uprisings broke out against the Belgian colonizers.

This comic illustrates an anti-colonial uprising in the fictional village of Tshamakele during the Congo Free State (1885-1908). It is an adaptation based on the animated film Red Rubber, Red Coltan (2021). Using the educational guide, you can easily integrate the comic into your lessons. Historical context, discussion themes, and guiding questions also provide useful reference points.

Optionally, the comic can be introduced using a photo-based activity on colonial stereotypes.

More info
Read comic
Order teacher manual
Place & period
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Theme
Economy
Violence
Resistance
Type
Comic
Lesson package
Organisation
Year
2022
Language
French
Target audience
Primary education
1st stage secondary
Duration
60 min.
Cover of card game “(Dé)colonisation : cartes sur table !”
A card game on colonial history and decolonization

What we remember of the past is by definition incomplete. How far does your knowledge of history before, during, and after the Belgian colonial period extend?

With this card game, students explore 35 historical milestones related to Africa, the DR Congo, and Belgium in a fun and engaging way. Some events and figures are well known, while others have yet to enter the collective memory. The timeline also highlights anti-colonial resistance and the role of women.

The card game can be ordered for free.

More info
Order card game (free)
Place & period
Precolonial (…-1885)
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
DR Congo (1960-...)
Theme
Decolonization
Heritage and memory
Gender
Independance
Racism
Resistance
Type
Game
Organisation
Year
2025
Language
French
Target audience
2nd stage secondary
3rd stage secondary
Duration
50 / 100 min.
Congo Free State (1885-1908)