KNHG is one of many professional associations dedicated to history throughout the world and maintains close ties with several of these international sister associations. These contacts involve interactions between boards as well as organizational efforts and serve mainly to exchange knowledge and learn from the experiences of others. The KNHG informs its members and others interested in history about congresses, gatherings and relevant publications of these sister associations by issuing announcements, reports and newsletters. The KNHG also disseminates calls for proposals by sister associations via the website and the digital newsletter.
The historical sister associations most important for the KNHG are:
The AHA is the largest professional association of historians in the world and represents 12,000 historians from all disciplines working everywhere in the United States. Founded in 1884, the AHA has been recognized by the U.S. Congress since 1889 as an institute dedicated to promoting historical scholarship. The AHA symbolizes leadership within the discipline, preserving academic freedom, developing professional standards, and promoting historical scholarship and scholarly publications and is focused on educational innovation and supports its members wherever possible.
The AHA organizes their Annual Meeting in the first week of January. In 2018 Director Antia Wiersma attended the annual meeting and reported on her experiences. In 2019 managing editor of the BMGN-LCHR Tessa Lobbes travelled to the United States and wrote up her observations.
In 2022, the Annual Meeting will be held in New Orleans from 6 to 9 January.
Founded in 1895, the VHD has about 3,000 members. According to its articles of association, the main tasks of the association are “promoting the organization of historical studies and, especially, promoting the representation of German historians in social debate.”
The VHD organizes a large congress once every two years. Known as the Historikertage, the event attracts a great many participants (ca. 3,500 at each congress). Each edition of the Historikertage features a special theme and is hosted in conjunction with a partner country. The most recent Historikertage took place from 25 to 28 September 2018 in Münster and highlighted Gespaltene Gesellschäften [divided societies]. The Netherlands was the theme country. The KNHG bureau members wrote a joint report about this congress. The upcoming Historikertage will take place at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich from 5 to 8 October 2021.
The RHS was founded in 1868 and is the most important association of professional historians in the United Kingdom and aims to promote historiography by scholars. The RHS is pivotal in drafting policy for history scholarship. In 2018 the RHS published two reports about diversity among professional historians. The first report is about students and academic staff with a BME (Black and Ethnic Minority) background and is titled Race, Ethnicity & Equality in UK History. A Report and Resource for Change. The second report concerns gender relations at British universities and is titled Promoting Gender Equality in UK History.
The HA was founded in 1906 by history teachers and university history instructors advocating good history instruction in the United Kingdom. Presently, the HA supports teachers at primary and secondary schools with discipline-related and didactical programs, publications and advice. More broadly, the HA aims to promote studying and enjoying history at all levels and to convene those interested in and passionate about the past.
The HA organizes an annual congress, which took place in Stratford upon Avon in 2018. Director Antia Wiersma participated in this congress and wrote about her experiences. In 2019 the congress was held in Chester.
As a national association, the KNHG represents the Netherlands in the international organization of historians: the International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS), also known in French as the Comité international des sciences historiques (CISH). This international association is mainly active in organizing the five-year world congress for historians. In 2010 the KNHG did this in conjunction with the ICHS in Amsterdam. The next world congress will take place in 2022 in Poznan, Poland.
At irregular intervals, the bureau and board publish a Newsletter.