searchMinisters sign revised nomination file
During the 42th annual session in Bahrain in 2018, the World Heritage Committee discussed the nomination of the ‘Colonies of Benevolence’ as a serial World Heritage site and invited the submitting countries, Belgium and the Netherlands, to come back with a revised nomination file within three years. On January the20 2020, a revised nomination file was presented to Flemish Minister Matthias Diependaele (Immovable Heritage) and Dutch Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (Education, Culture and Science).
Flemish minister Diependaele will now submit the file on behalf of both countries. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is expected to take a decision at its 44th annual session in July 2020 in Fuzhou (China).
A sincere candidate for World Heritage status
The Colonies of Benevolence are the world's first, largest and longest running examples of domestic agricultural colonies for reducing poverty. Over a million Belgian and Dutch citizens have ancestors in the Colonies of Benevolence.
A stronger nomination, thanks to collaboration with ICOMOS
Following the Committee’s decision in 2018, an intensive scientific dialogue was started with ICOMOS, one of the World Heritage Convention’s advisory bodies. Recommendations made by the Committee and ICOMOS in 2018 were closely looked at. Additional research and consultations with experts have clearly made the nomination stronger. It now focusses more on the places where concentrations of attributes (landscape elements and buildings) can be found, dating from the flourishing period of the Colonies of Benevolence (1818 – 1918). Four of the seven Colonies are now presented to the World Heritage Committee. However, the seven Colonies of Benevolence have confirmed that they will continue to jointly tell their history of reducing poverty.
Presentation of the revised file in the Flemish Colony Wortel, 20-1-’20 - Left to right: Dutch Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (Education, Culture and Science), Chairman of the Steering group Colonies of Benevolence and Vice-Governor of Drenthe Cees Bijl, Flemish Minister Matthias Diependaele (Immovable Heritage), vice-chairperson of the Steering group and Vice-Governor of Antwerp Kathleen Helsen and vice-chairperson of the Steering group and Vice-Governor of Antwerp Jan de Haes.