Study day Intangible Heritage South Holland

Last Friday, June 28, the South Holland Knowledge Center and Heritage House in Schoonhoven organized a study afternoon for heritage communities, museum staff, historical associations and policy staff from South Holland! There were various lectures, a quiz and workshops for the 65 participants, including a keynote by Diederik Veerman (Museon) and a silversmithing workshop. Our own colleagues also organized workshops, namely: 'Intangible Heritage and Museums' and 'Municipal Heritage Policy'.

The day was kicked off with a welcome speech from Mariëlle Hendriks of the Heritage House, then Saskia van Oostveen led the quiz: How IE intelligent are you? During a lively discussion it became increasingly clear what intangible heritage actually is, and also what it is not. In the meantime, a film was shown about Kopro Beki , after which Leo Adriaanse - director of the Knowledge Center - talked about the intangible heritage in the Netherlands and the UNESCO treaty that was concluded in 2003.

After the coffee break, a short film about the Molenaarsambacht was shown, followed by an animated lecture by Ellen Steendam and Marloes Wellenberg about Molenaarsverhalen - an oral history project from the Heritage House. In his keynote, Diederik Veerman discussed the love between museums and intangible heritage and gave inspiring examples of successful projects at home and abroad. The morning was closed by spokespersons for the Fund for Cultural Participation. The participants listened with great interest to explanations about the new subsidy scheme for intangible heritage. A delicious lunch with a view over the Lek was enjoyed at Hotel Belvedère.

After lunch, the program was continued in the Dutch Silver Museum and the participants were shown around in a video by the director of the museum. Then it was time to zoom in a little deeper on Alphen aan den Rijn. Ronald Houtman (Royal Association for Boskoop Cultures) spoke about the dynamic intangible heritage of Floriculture and Misty Zonneveld enthusiastically explained the intangible heritage policy of Alphen aan den Rijn.

Then it was time to split into groups; there were three workshops with different topics in which the participants were actively involved. At the Silversmiths workshop, the participants were able to experience for themselves what a silversmith must do to arrive at his end product. In the 'Intangible Heritage and Museums' workshop, inspiring cases from home and abroad were discussed under the direction of Karin Kievit, Evelien Masselink and Sophie Elpers. In the 'Municipal Heritage Policy' workshop, the participants discussed the challenges and opportunities for intangible heritage in the spatial environment and the role that municipalities can play in response to the impending Environmental Act. The workshop was given by Marcus Laman, Jet Bakels and Mark Schep.

After a plenary wrap-up of the three workshops, there was enough time to socialize and exchange experiences while enjoying a snack and a drink. Do you also want to be inspired? Then put the next national IP day on 2 November 2019 in your agenda!