The monuments on the Dutch Caribbean islands are a valuable and unique part of our historical heritage. They are silent witnesses to the colonial history of the islands and the society that emerged from it. Additionally, they are photographed by many and serve as the calling card of the islands as a tourist destination.
In recent decades, several organizations on the Dutch Caribbean islands have worked hard and advocated for a solid infrastructure and sound government policy aimed at giving the monumental heritage the attention it deserves. As a result, there is a certain level of protection for the monumental heritage, and it is possible to obtain subsidies to restore monuments.
In Curaçao, the capital Willemstad has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 1997. The Open Monument Days, regularly organized by Fundashon Pro Monumento, attract large numbers of volunteers and visitors. The neighborhood festival Kaya Kaya, taking place for the sixth time this year, is gaining in popularity. Walking tours, with or without a guide, are not only popular among tourists but are also increasingly favored by the residents of Curaçao. In Aruba, significant efforts are being made to improve monument legislation, and several ambitious restoration plans have been initiated. In Bonaire, an inter-island monument conference took place in 2022, organized by the Dutch Caribbean Heritage Platform. However, knowledge about monumental heritage among the local population still leaves much to be desired. In the education sector, only a limited number of schools are passing on knowledge about this subject.
An initiative of:
Inventory of Teaching Materials
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In the document ‘Inventory of Teaching Materials – in the field of built and archaeological heritage and intangible heritage as far as it relates to tangible heritage’, commissioned by the Curaçao National Commission for UNESCO, dated September 2017, several recommendations are made in chapter 7 regarding the development of teaching materials on built and archaeological heritage.
The inventory of teaching materials and the resulting recommendations are primarily focused on education, categorized into different school types.
An important conclusion was that there is a lot of material about built and archaeological heritage, but it is difficult to find. In the educational field, there was a need for a place where information and teaching materials could be easily found.
The first priority mentioned (p. 83) is: “…the establishment of a digital platform with all the materials that are already available. Together with the publication of a newsletter and the creation and maintenance of a Facebook page, this essentially provides a good infrastructure for the further development of material.”
As the initiator, Stichting Monumentenzorg Curaçao recognizes that the need for information about monumental heritage exists on all islands and wants to make this Digital Platform for Monumental Heritage of the Caribbean Netherlands accessible to a broader audience on all islands. In addition to teachers and students in education, other groups such as parents, children, young people, and visitors can also use the information offered by the platform. This includes after-school care, youth groups, family and friend groups who want to organize an activity, tourists, tourist organizations, and more.