Heritage Corner

On Thursday, 25Th September 2008 I was invited to attend a "Shared Heritage Reception" in the Ministry for Education, Culture and Science in the Hague. The Dutch Government has a new policy about international co operations with its ex-colonies, one of them is Indonesia, and they wanted to socialize this new policy. The main thing is about allocation of budget which now distributes through the Embassies in the partner countries. I met the Indonesian delegation from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Indonesian Embassy. We were together most of the time simply because there were a lot to catch up. But some people came to talk to us, too, and we had good laughs and conversations. We even thought about a join cooperation for a very interesting project with one of the Dutch partner. In this sort of occasion I thought how small the heritage network is. I met the people and I encountered the names which are very familiar already in the network for years. One or two new nam...

Part of my involvement in heritage education, I have attended the Closing Conference of Erfgoed a la Carte (erfgoed = heritage), in Spoorwegmuseum (Railway Museum), Utrecht, 24th Sept 2008. I have written the report in Indonesian because I sent it to my Indonesian network. Rabu, 24 September 2008, saya menghadiri penutupan Program "Erfgoed a la Carte" yang kalau diterjemahkan secara harafiah berarti "Prasmanan Pusaka", lokasinya di Museum Kereta Api, Utrecht. Prasmanan Pusaka adalah program stimulasi edukasi pusaka untuk sekolah dasar yang dilaksanakan antara 2004-2008 oleh 15 organisasi di Belanda, terdiri dari institusi pendidikan dan organisasi pusaka. Pimpinan proyeknya Cees Hageman yang sudah kita kenal dengan baik. Tujuan utama proyek ini adalah untuk merangsang agar edukasi pusaka dapat diintegrasikan kedalam kurikulum sekolah dasar dan juga kehidupan sehari-hari siswa. Caranya adalah melalui kerjasama antara sekolah-sekolah dasar dengan berbagai organisasi ...

In 2003 Sumatra Heritage Trust received the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award of Merit for its project to refurbish a historical bridge "Tjong Yong Hian" in Kampung Madras, Medan, Indonesia. More info about this can be seen through http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=2185 One specific thing I was proud of this project is the historical sign that has been designed by volunteer Soewandi so nicely and placed next to the bridge. Every pedestrian can read the text and photo in English and Indonesian. This was part of public education and promotion of the historical value of the bridge. When I was in Indonesia this year I was told that the historical sign has been stolen. Disappeared. I was stunned. The most shocking news from Medan. I knew that economic life is getting more difficult but it is unthinkable that someone would steal the sign, the metal part to be cut in pieces and sold for almost nothing. I am sure that whatever rupiahs the stealer has earned is not equal with the...

Being an Indonesian in the Netherlands I am amazed to how much I am exposed to the word "Indonesia" or "the Dutch Indies" from time to time. It is true that the Dutch has settled about 350 years in Indonesia but Indonesia has been independent since 1945. Apparently 63 years are relatively short to get rid of what has happened between the two nations. A small example. I have chosen a small book titled "Laatste Schooldag" (the Last School Day) by Jan Siebelink because I want to learn about school life in the Netherlands. And all of sudden in one part of the book appeared a story about gold mining of Sumatra. Other story. Last Sunday I joined a tour to Fort of Abcoude. The guide told a long story and suddenly mentioned that the Fort has been used as an exercise place for armies who went to the Dutch Indies in the 50's. Several months back I went to a jail museum in Drenthe Province. All participants biked, lunched, walked and during the talk I found out t...

The Open Monumentendag (Heritage Days) is designed to bring people into contact with the historic environment, and to encourage interest in and understanding of historical monuments and the need for their preservation. During the Open Monumentendag - every second weekend of September - thousands of historical buildings and sites (about 4,000) are open to the public free of charge. Besides opening their doors, many locations also organise on-site activities like exhibitions, music and guided tours. Each year around 80 to 85 percent of Dutch municipalities participate in the Open Monumentendag , organised by local committees. In recent years around 900,000 visitors have participated annually, making the Open Monumentendag one of the Netherlands' premier cultural events. The Open Monumentendag in the Netherlands started in 1987 and is co-ordinated nationally by the Stichting Open Monumentendag , which has its office in Amsterdam. The Open Monumentendag is part of an internationa...