Background
What remains today of the Dutch Period in Sri Lanka is a mutual heritage that evolved from the interaction and exchange of elements between the Sri Lankan and Dutch cultures. The Central Cultural Fund in Sri Lanka approached Dutch cultural institutions with the proposal to establish a cultural relationship programme, aiming to preserve built heritage from the Dutch Period. With the close involvement of the Royal Netherlands Embassy, this programme came into practice by the establishment of the Mutual Heritage Centre in 1999. The Centre has been in operation for the last six years and several meaningful heritage preservation projects have been implemented, with the assistance of the Dutch Cultural Fund.

The following impressive results, funded by the Netherlands government, were achieved since the establishment of the Mutual Heritage Centre.

• The founding of a Maritime Archaeology Unit in Sri Lanka with all basic needs for the future use in the underwater archaeological explorations in the country and the completion of its rehabilitation programme after Tsunami.
• The completion of the conservation of the Dutch Reformed Church. This church was established in Ceylon in 1642, and is the oldest Protestant Church in Sri Lanka. The church was built and completed in August 1755 and it has since withstood the test of time. UNESCO awarded the outstanding conservation work with the Merit Award.
• The archive preservation programme TANAP (Towards a New Age of Partnership), implemented by the National Archive in The Netherlands and the Department of National Archives in Sri Lanka, with a facilitating role for the Central Cultural Fund and the Royal Netherlands Embassy. The treasure of ancient documents, written in many languages, contains all sorts of historic information on, for instance, intrigues at the court in Kandy, populations that have disappeared over the years, local prices of products, weather reports, regional customs, clothing, religion and ancient traditions. Even the oldest handwriting in Tamil is to be found in the VOC archives.
• The most well-known heritage project funded by The Netherlands is the “Avondster Project”. The Avondster, a VOC ship from the 17th century, which was wrecked on 23 June 1659 in the harbour of Galle, is now being excavated. The rescue excavation of the Avondster is a top priority, but this project has also provided an ideal opportunity to develop maritime archaeology in Sri Lanka. The project trained a team of Sri Lankan archaeologists.

These positive outcomes have strengthened the bilateral relations between the two countries and will be further intensified from the year 2006 onwards by implementing an integrated cultural programme. This programme will cover the Southern province combining all major visitor attracting cultural sites, both local and international, and their development. The focus will be on linking cultural heritage to tourism thus creating opportunities for income, employment and sustainable management of cultural heritage.

Role and contribution of the Netherlands Embassy
The Netherlands embassy is interested in increasing the scope of the Mutual heritage programme in the coming years. The focus will be on linking cultural heritage to tourism.

Logical place to start for continuation is Galle. Galle is an important World Heritage site in the Asian region with the potential to develop into a major international cultural tourist destination. After the Tsunami these cultural qualities have been identified as a potential asset for the rehabilitation and economic development of the heavily affected city and its region.

The government has pledged a financial support to an extent of about €5 million to Sri lanka.

Foreseen activities

• Conservation of the ancient Dutch warehouse of Galle and establishment of a visitor centre and museum complex
• Conservation of the ancient Ramparts of Galle giving priority to sections damaged by Tsunami
• Establishment of a Visitor Centre and museum in the Kataragama Temple complex
• Promotion of the Cultural Tourism Plan for Galle and the southern province.
• General support for the Central Cultural Fund
• Support to Private House owner Conservation Scheme for Galle Dutch Fort.
• Restoration of the ancient underground drainage system in Galle Fort.
• Development of Katuwana Dutch Fort and the Urubokka Ancient canal and dam