Dutch Involvement in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Overseas : Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Restoration

For several decades now, the Dutch Government has been involved in stimulating and facilitating the restoration and conservation of cultural heritage overseas. First primarily related to properties and sites of the former colonial period, but over time increasingly focusing on the broader field of cultural heritage, which is being addressed as part of strategies of socio-economic development and sustainability. During this period attention also has gradually shifted from the establishment of inventories to actual interventions in architectural objects and urban setting, while currently the transmission of knowledge and skills in restoration and conservation is a key element in Dutch government-sponsored projects and programmes. It is important to take stock of recent restoration and conservation projects overseas, which have a significant Dutch involvement either technically or financially, and to establish actual trends. With this overview, issues such as the feasibility of integrated conservation, conservation as a social process, with broad stakeholder involvement, demand driven conservation projects at the local level versus master planning on a regional level, and the importance of capacity building, are to be discussed and evaluated. Next to establishing new, or a change in, directions for professionals in the field, the Dutch Government will gain insight in the viability of current policies guiding support and funding for restoration and conservation activities overseas. This book contains comments and recommendations on the issues mentioned above, supplemented by richly illustrated papers en a diverse range of restoration and conservation projects, ranging from the Caribbean Sea in the West to Yemen and India in the East.