CIE - Centre for International Heritage Activities
Centrum voor Internationale Erfgoedactiviteiten
Mutual cultural Heritage Suriname
Dutch-Surinamese Heritage Cooperation Stakeholder Meeting
Status: Complete
Duration: 2009
Partners: Directorate Culture Surinam, Netherlands Institute for Heritage
Overview:
The Director of the Directorate Culture of Surinam visited the Netherlands and requested CIE to arrange a stakeholder meeting. The aim was to provide a follow up to the work done during the Heritage Day Suriname held in 2007 in The Hague as well as the workshop 'Shared Cultural heritage Suriname-Netherlands' in Paramaribo in 2008.
During the meeting the Director detailed the current state of affairs in Surinamese heritage policy. The invited participants in exchange informed him about planned activities of the Dutch heritage field with Suriname in context with the Dutch Mutual Cultural Heritage policy. The experts and Director discussed themes such as museological cooperation, intangible heritage, built heritage and archives.
Heritage Day Suriname & Workshop 'Shared Cultural Heritage Suriname- Netherlands'
Status: Complete
Duration: 2008
Partners: Directorate Culture Surinam, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Introduction:
The Heritage Day was combined with a workshop in line with the wishes of the Directorate Culture Surinam who wished to present their cultural policy to the Surinam heritage field, and CIE to give a follow-up to the Heritage Day Suriname which was organised in The Hague in 2007.
Presentations were given by CIE, Directorate Culture Surinam, and Atlantic World and the Dutch (AWAD). This was followed by presentations on nine projects working on mutual heritage between Suriname and the Netherlands. In the afternoon workshops were organised on the themes of: knowledge exchange, government and legislation, heritage digitization and sustainable tourism.
Objectives:
- To present the Surinamese cultural policy
- Report on the Heritage Day in the Netherlands
- Inventory completed, running and future heritage projects
- Inventory organisations and experts in Suriname
- Exchange of information and experiences between experts and professionals.
- Present the Cultural Heritage Connections Database.
- Investigate possibilities for better coordination and relationships in heritage projects and cooperation.
Outcomes:
The definition of mutual or shared heritage is still unclear and there is a difference in opinion over its meaning. The participants came up with the following opinions;
1. That this heritage is always mutual because many populations groups settled in Suriname due to Dutch colonialism. Heritage in Suriname belongs to Suriname.
2. The Netherlands is a part of Surinamese history, but that does not make Suriname's heritage mutual in essence.
During the workshop the second option was mostly favoured by the participants.
There was much demand and attention for focusing on (im)material heritage. Sustainable development of heritage sites was also important for the local population and has high priority within the national culture policy.
Documents:
Heritage Day Suriname
Status: Complete
Duration: 2007
Partners: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, National Archives (Netherlands)
Introduction:
The Heritage Day Suriname was the first of two Heritage Days held to investigate the heritage cooperation between Suriname and the Netherlands in the context of the Dutch Mutual Cultural Heritage policy. The day was held at the National Archives in The Hague. A number of presentations were given by representatives of the Dutch National Archive, CIE, Cultuur van Suriname, the Zuiderzeemuseum, Stichting Recreatie Oorlogsveteranen, TU Delft.
In the afternoon a number of workshops took place, focusing upon:
- Built Heritage
- Archives, books and photos
- Museum Heritage
How mutual is mutual heritage?
- War heritage
Documents
Heritage Day Programme (in Dutch)
Cultural Heritage Connections
Status: Complete
Duration: 2007-2013
Partners: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
Introduction
This project was developed within the framework of shared cultural heritage. It was decided to establish an interactive online database regarding shared heritage cooperation with the priority countries. This would benefit current and future heritage cooperation through the provision of one central platform where information could be found detailing all past, current and proposed projects could be found, along with information about the experts and organisations involved. The users can share information and interact with the cultural heritage connections community, thereby creating a common resource tool.
The platform aimed to unite expertise and knowledge of projects in one central location and was set up in close contact with experts and organisations who participate actively in determining the contents of the platform. It was designed by CIE to be a tool for the heritage field, for governments and researchers, allowing them to add information and search for heritage projects and potential partners. CIE made an inventory of the international heritage activities carried out abroad and within the Netherlands, which fell under the Dutch Mutual Cultural Heritage Policy. All the heritage projects within a specific country were inventoried and placed into a database, to be integrated into the platform. For each of the priority countries CIE organised two heritage days, one in the Netherlands and a counterpart day in the respective country, these were effective ways to not only raise the profile of the database and gather data but also to discuss the current state of heritage cooperation between the two countries and explore possibilities for the future.
Results
The Cultural Heritage Connections platform was developed and built by CIE and is now managed by Dutch Culture.
To visit the database please click here
In 2013 CIE finalised our research report as a summary of all our work surrounding the Cultural Heritage Connections programme. The report concentrates on defining the positive and the 'bottlenecks' in current cultural heritage cooperation, formulating conclusions and recommendations for the priority countries. The report was the final step in the completion of the information for the database, with conclusions highlighting the successes and areas for improvement, as well as an overview of the involved experts, organisations and projects within the Netherlands and the Priority Countries. Through this Cultural Heritage Connections Database CIE has had the opportunity to actively expand its network of contacts and partners for future cooperation. As a network organisation it was our mission to make this network available to an international field. CIE hopes that through this database we have further stimulated professionalism and international collaboration in the field of mutual heritage.
Cultural Heritage Connections Launch
Status: Complete
Duration: June 2011
In 2011 CIE organised an International Heritage Cooperation Event, which was attended by over 100 international and national heritage experts. The hightlight of the day was the launch of the Cultural Heritage Connections platform. It was officially launched by the Director of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Coordinator of Culture, Sport and Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Representatives of international heritage organisations, museums, universities and national agencies discussed strategies and inspirational methods for international cooperation on cultural heritage. A panel of international and national heritage experts then discussed and debated if, or why, colonial heritage can become common ground for international cooperation.