Cees Bijl is the new chairman of the Maatschappij van Bendadigheid, the organization responsible for the preservation and management of monuments, lands and ideas of the Colonies of Benevolence
Bijl succeeds Anneke Haarsma as chairman of the board. Last month he resigned as acting mayor of Midden-Drenthe. Before that, he was, among other things, Drenthe deputy and mayor of Meppel and Emmen.
As a representative, Bijl was closely involved in obtaining UNESCO World Heritage status by the Colonies of Benevolence in July 2021. Bijl was part of the steering group that focused on obtaining status for the colonies of Frederiksoord, Wilhelminaoord, Veenhuizen and the Flemish Carrot.
The heritage tells the story of Johannes van den Bosch, who founded the Society of Benevolence in 1818 with the aim of retraining poor and disadvantaged city dwellers so that they could grow food on their own piece of land. It took years of lobbying to get on the UNESCO list.
Contacts with Bijl have remained warm ever since. “With Cees, we are bringing in an experienced director who has held administrative positions for more than forty years. He has gained a lot of experience in the cultural field and has built up a network. We look forward to working with him,” the board said. satisfied. The daily management of the foundation is in the hands of general director Minne Wiersma.