70 Years Later, the Spirit of Bandung Returns to Center Stage in Rabat
On April 17–18, 2025, the city of Rabat will host an international symposium marking the 70th anniversary of the historic Bandung Conference. Organized by the School of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities at Al Akhawayn University, the event will take place at Al Akhawayn Conference Center and bring together scholars and voices from across the globe to reflect on the legacy—and contradictions—of Bandung.
Held in 1955 in Indonesia, the original Bandung Conference gathered 340 delegates from 29 African and Asian countries and colonies. It was the first time in modern history that representatives from the Global South came together to assert their own political vision, outside of Western dominance and Cold War rivalry. The conference gave birth to the non-aligned movement and a renewed sense of postcolonial solidarity.
Seventy years on, the Rabat symposium—Bandung at 70: Hope, Betrayal, and the Many Lives of the Global Postcolony—aims to revisit the ideals of that moment: anti-imperialism, sovereignty, cooperation, and mutual respect. But it won’t stop at nostalgia. The event asks tough questions: What became of the Bandung spirit? Who upheld it? Who betrayed it? And does it still matter in today’s world of fractured alliances and emerging powers?
Panelists from diverse academic and geographical backgrounds will explore these themes in depth, offering fresh research, critical analysis, and personal insights. Together, they will examine how the vision of Bandung has been remembered, distorted, challenged, or revived in the decades since 1955.
As the world faces renewed geopolitical tension and widespread inequality, Bandung at 70 invites us to reconsider what solidarity looks like today—and whether the Global South can still chart a course on its own terms.