Netherlands

Davida de Hond is a member of the management team of Museum Arnhem, a museum located in the eastern part of the Netherlands. As head of public and program, de Hond is responsible for education, marketing, communication, programming and exhibitions. Previously I have worked as an entrepreneur in the cultural field, focus on heritage and community building. I have a focus on participation and education through heritage and art. I also worked for Erfgoed Nederland, the national heritage agency, with a role in the team that focussed on heritage in an international perspective. For the Reinwardt Academy I have worked on international cooperation projects that focussed on new museology, eco museology, community building and innovation in heritage education. Besides my different employments, I am also active as an advisor on committees regarding culture and heritage subsidies. Currently for the Mondriaan Fund, and in the recent past for the municipality of Rotterdam through the RRKC, Provincial committee on culture and heritage in Gelderland and the fund for Cultural Participation.

Michiel Purmer studied Human Geography, specialising in Historical Geography at Utrecht University. In 2000, he began working for Natuurmonumenten, a Dutch NGO that manages more than 100.000 HA of nature reserves, including a broad array of cultural heritage: archaeology, country estates, historical buildings and cultural landscapes. As senior heritage specialist he is an advisor on cultural heritage for this society in the field of landscapes, archaeology and parks and gardens. Michiel Purmer also represents Natuurmonumenten in the broad field of cultural heritage in The Netherlands, working, for example, with other nature conservation organisations, the Dutch Heritage Agency and universities.

Michiel Purmer defended his PhD thesis at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2018. The thesis, entitled Het landschap bewaard (The landscape preserved), studied Natuurmonumenten as an heritage organization, with focus on historical cultural landscapes in historical perspective.

Michiel Purmer guest lectures at universities and previously held a position at Groningen University. He regularly publishes on heritage and landscape, but also on other fields of interest like numismatic and clay pipes and recently became a member of the National Consultation Panel on Heritage of the Netherlands.

Harry Verwayen – General Director Europeana Foundation, the operator of the Europeana Initiative. Across Europe, museums, galleries and archives digitise their collections. Europeana supports these organisations in their digital transformation by making these collections available as widely as possible so that people can find and use them. For work, for learning or just for fun. Europeana’s work is guided by creative collaboration, supportive teamwork and the idea that sharing and reusing cultural content can positively transform the world. Prior to this Harry worked at the Amsterdam based think tank Kennisland where he was responsible for business model innovation in the cultural heritage sector. Harry holds a MA in History from Leiden University and has worked over ten years in the Academic Publishing Industry. Mediocre tennis player, reasonable cook, aspiring photographer.