Dutch Trading Post Heritage Network visits the Netherlands
Weblog
Between 5 and 10 December 2022, members of the Dutch Trading Post Heritage Network (DTPHN) visited the Netherlands. The DTPHN is an international network of Asian public and private institutions that work with heritage related to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). This network aims to share knowledge and research on VOC-related heritage and to cooperate on historical research initiatives. The member institutions are based in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
Exchanging perspectives and approaches
The aim of their visit to the Netherlands was to broaden their network and those of Dutch partners. Furthermore, the focus was on knowledge exchange about how to deal with VOC-heritage for contemporary purposes. Amongst other activities, they paid a visit to the Rijksmuseum and its exhibitions related to the VOC. The members of the DTPHN raised critical questions and shared insights from their perspectives about how certain objects were exhibited and what kinds of narratives such display choices engender. These issues were further addressed during a roundtable discussion between the members of the DTPHN and one of the museum’s curators about the role of museums in dealing with difficult shared histories, such as that of the VOC.
During this discussion, examples from different contexts were used to exchange and compare ideas about ways in which museums deal with the presentation of histories and objects that mean different things to different people and which lie at the centre of heated debates. This is a challenge shared across many countries and it became clear during the conversation that much can be gained from working together internationally, to ensure that different knowledge and perspectives are taken into account in the making of an exhibition.
Visiting the Cultural Heritage Agency
On Wednesday, the group visited our Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE)-headquarters in Amersfoort for a workshop on “Urban Heritage Strategies. Heritage Beyond Tourism”, together with IHS (Erasmus University Rotterdam). After a presentation about the UHS method, the group split into smaller teams to examine the cases of Ternate, Hirado, Galle and Tainan, and defined development potentials that may offer an alternative to tourism. The visit to the RCE concluded with a presentation about the RCE’s international maritime archaeology projects taking place in cooperation with the countries that are part of the DTPHN.
Learning from each other
On the last day of the programme, a public symposium took place in Amsterdam, during which the network gave presentations about their work. During the Q&A, the speakers shared their perspectives on the idea of authenticity and the role that intangible heritage plays in heritage management and public outreach.
Several members of the DTPHN emphasised that while in the Netherlands a lot of importance is given to the tangible elements of historical buildings, in different Asian contexts such as Japan or Taiwan, intangible heritage and other forms of knowledge about the past often play a more significant role. This event also provided an opportunity for further networking, which was one of the main goals of this visit. You can read more about the symposium and the presentations in this article published by DutchCulture
This visitors programme for the DTPHN was organised by DutchCulture in close cooperation with the other International Heritage Cooperation (IHC) partner institutions – the National Archives, KIEN (the Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage) and the RCE. Members of DTPHN visited all organising parties to learn more about International Heritage Cooperation in the framework of the Dutch International Cultural Policy and the projects and activities of the partner institutions . Throughout the week’s many sessions and talks, several ideas were exchanged about possible avenues for future cooperation between our programme and the DTPHN . Keep an eye on our communication channels for future updates!
