A new step in the nomination process for the colonies of benevolence

The Netherlands and Belgium have accepted the offer of ICOMOS, the UNESCO advisory body, to collaborate on a supplemented dossier for the nomination of the Colonies of Benevolence as World Heritage site.

Additional research

As the ultimately responsible party for the submission, Ingrid van Engelshoven, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, has agreed to present the nomination file of the Colonies of Benevolence again to the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in 2020. In doing so, the Minister follows the advice of the Dutch-Flemish Steering Committee, in which the Flemish Prime Minister Geert Bourgeois is represented.

The extra time provides the opportunity to carry out additional research in support of the argumentation as to 'free' and 'unfree' Colonies as part of one single system of poverty reduction, and the ideas behind the construction of the agricultural colonies. The objective is to enter into a dialogue with ICOMOS on this point. This may result in ICOMOS reviewing its previous advice, opening the way to a supported inscription as World Heritage site.

Colonies of Benevolence as an exemplary file

In Bahrain last June, the World Heritage Committee examined the nomination of the Colonies of Benevolence. It was concluded that the Colonies of Benevolence are potentially deserving of World Heritage inscription. Heritage on the theme of poverty reduction is considered to be relevant on an international level. With a so-called 'referral decision', the Netherlands, which submitted the file also on behalf of Flanders, was invited to adjust and resubmit the file within three years. Part of this decision was the possibility to make use of an 'advisory mission' by ICOMOS, which could reinforce the nomination file. In recent months, a great deal of effort has gone into finding the best way to address this.

ICOMOS and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre regard the course which is now to be followed for the Colonies of Benevolence as an example for comparable future World Heritage nominations. The Steering Committee is convinced that this premise, in combination with the joint efforts to improve the nomination file, offers a good opportunity for the supported inscription of the Colonies of Benevolence on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The advice to the Minister to enter into this course together with ICOMOS, and to again submit the nomination file to the World Heritage Committee in 2020, is regarded by the partners in the Steering Committee as a reinforcement of the current nomination.

An exceptional social experiment worldwide

This next step in the nomination process means that the seven Colonies will continue to collaborate in promoting the joint story of poverty reduction by means of agriculture and social elevation, together with the many active partners in the areas. The Colonies of Benevolence are the first and worldwide the most extensive example of a social experiment to fight poverty through agriculture.

Many activities will continue to take place in the Dutch and Flemish Colonies, such as the opening of the new visitors’ centre, House of Benevolence, in Frederiksoord in the spring of 2019.