2016 Network Meeting in Thailand

From November 13-16 the 2nd Dutch Trading Post Heritage Network meeting was held in Thailand. Our Thai members from Baan Hollanda hosted and organised the meeting this year.

All the participants arrived in Bangkok on the 13th. On the 14th we went to Baan Hollanda, the heritage site of the Dutch Trading Post in Ayutthaya. First the historical remains of the heritage site as well as the presentation and information panels at the Baan Hollanda museum were explained. This was followed by presentations by the participating members. The theme was `Treasures in Heritage`, so every member presented on their `treasure` in their own respective trading post heritage site. A lot of information was shared and updates given about the state of each former trading post. After a network meeting we were able to participate in the tradition Loy Kratong festival during which small floats are send down the river.

The next day consisted of visiting the local heritage sites such as the temples and the treasures that were found there which were displayed in the national museum. After a visit to the Japanese trading post museum, we moved back to Bangkok in the evening.

The last day was a whole day of workshops on storytelling in museums, held at the Museum Siam in Bangkok. Information was given on how Baan Hollanda and Museum Siam do their storytelling and how the exhibitions were managed as well as how VOC history is represented in the Netherlands. This was followed by workshops on how to improve and engage people in the `stories` that are told at the members sites. A lot of stories showed the connections between our Dutch Trading Posts and the way they were presented changed dramatically for the better during the course of the day. This very helpful training was the end of the successful 2nd network meeting.

A big thank you to the team of Baan Holland for organising such a great network meeting! For more information, contact the secretariat at the contact page.