Penelehhistory.com: Surabaya (29/7/24) – Remco Vermeulen, senior official of the RCE (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed) or the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, and Lambertus Christiaan Grijns, the Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia, are scheduled to visit the Peneleh European Cemetery in Surabaya on Tuesday morning (29/7/24). Their visit is related to the cemetery revitalization program, initiated by communities in both countries. Begandring Soerabaia (Indonesia), in partnership with TiMe Amsterdam (Netherlands), is working to build a bridge of friendship between the two countries through the utilization of shared historical assets, namely the Peneleh European Cemetery.
This collaborative community project is supported and funded by DutchCulture the Netherlands. DutchCulture is an international organization network for cultural cooperation, with Indonesia being one of the Netherlands’ international cooperation partners.
After a lengthy process throughout 2023, the Begandring Soerabaia association, in partnership with TiMe Amsterdam, managed to convince DutchCulture to support a project to revitalize the European cemetery located in Peneleh, Surabaya. This project is titled “Peneleh as a Living Library.” Physically, this project aims to beautify the cemetery area, while non-physically, it seeks to foster people-to-people relationships to enhance mutual understanding between the two countries.
The concept of “Peneleh as a Living Library” highlights the potential and wealth of Peneleh as a learning platform to increase the knowledge of residents in both countries and to build cooperative relationships between the two communities. Peneleh, rich in historical, cultural, and social values as well as its community, is a “book” for all to be “read” communicatively and interactively.
According to the agenda of the Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia, Ambassador Lambertus Christiaan Grijns will be received by the Surabaya City Government on Monday (29/7/24) at 11:30 AM. This was confirmed by Puji, a staff member of the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia in Jakarta. Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning (30/7/24), he is scheduled to visit the Peneleh Cemetery to review the “Peneleh as a Living Library” project. (Nanang)