Heritage Corner

The plantation history of Indonesia is one of the most fascinating histories for me because it embraces many elements: industry, economy, social, culture, migration, globalization, and I can add more and more angles.  If I relate it to the shared history between Indonesia and the Netherlands, the plantation history as if still alive because I could find many traces in both countries.  The last webinar about shared history was about the plantation history at the Eastcoast of Sumatra (current North Sumatra). Indonesia was represented by Museum Perkebunan Indonesia-Musperin (the Indonesian Plantation Museum) in Medan. The speaker, Sordjai Kartasasmita is one of the founding fathers of the plantation industry in Indonesia and the initiator of the musea (yes, Musperin has two musea).  When I searched the traces in the Netherlands, I found quite a number of essential traces. The multinational Deli Maatschappij is now Deli Home. Villa's of the plantation pioneers are still intact, for exa

Indonesia and the Netherlands have been building a bridge of understanding for some time especially for themes of shared history and shared heritage. The truth is that both sides have their own angles which are completely logical. As a cultural heritage professional, I would love to see both angles. That should be ideal. The reality is that ideal is difficult to achieve. So every time I have to face the reality, I accept that the ideal approach would never be achieved or presented. The highest expectation that I could have is that both sides exchange their angles. I can live with it. Shared history and shared heritage are celebrated or contemplated differently in Indonesia and the Netherlands as long as I can observe as a practitioner in the field in both countries. I save more details about my opinion for other opportunities, but what I would like to say is that difference makes this job attractive for me. I have been doing this job for almost three decades and it is getting more and

Exchanging thoughts and ideas with the exhibition team of Museum Sophiahof in Den Haag in a constructive discussion on 6 October 2021 related to their exhibition about shared history with Indonesia, opened in February next year.  A positive initiative of Museum Sophiahof to communicate more and be open with related stakeholders. Indonesia and the Netherlands have shared history and communication helps to be open to the other side of the history.  (Photo: Max Meijer)

On Friday 1 October 2021, I became a panel member for the session about Industrial Heritage of Europe presented by Hildebrand de Boer, Board Member of ERIH (European of Industrial Heritage), and several more positions in industrial heritage. The basic idea of his presentation was the development of the industrial heritage movement in Europe since his involvement in the 1970s. He divided the development into three phases: validation, sensitization, and celebration.  ERIH (European of Industrial Heritage) is one of the impressive results of the development and it is developing until now. Check this out for details  https://www.erih.net/ As a panelist, I responded that if the industrial heritage movement in Asia inspired us to develop similar routes, we should at least consider three things: selection strategies, patterns of justification, and interpretative approaches, as Soyez, D. (2009) stated in Europeanizing Industrial Heritage in Europe: Addressing Its Transboundary and Dark Sides.