Today, the Colonies of Benevolence celebrate their first anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Obtaining the status was the culmination of a process that started way back in 2003. Residents of the area increasingly see the advantage of the status.
Policy officer Bernard Stikfort was involved in the nomination from the Westerveld municipality. He still vividly remembers the moment when the redeeming word came out at the Unesco Congress in China. With other people involved, he followed a stream exactly one year ago. “The whole room, who was listening and watching with excitement, fell silent. And it really took a full minute for it to sink in ‘we are world heritage’. And then the roof went off.”
When Stikfort looks back on the past year, he first lists the things that still need to be done. “We are not there yet, UNESCO has given us homework”, the policy officer points out to protect parts of the village views that belong to the heritage. In addition, UNESCO identifies a number of values that are very important for the area. “What are you going to do as a colony manager to protect, promote and strengthen those values?”
The World Heritage Commission therefore wants to ensure that the heritage is properly managed. This is also checked every six years. “Those six years do not start when you become heritage, that is an ongoing process. We will be rolling in that next year. So in 2023 we must already provide the first report.”
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