Dutch Australians at a glance - DAAAG : preserving cultural heritage - digitally

The history of immigration has in recent times become a rising field for historical reflection, research and commemoration, thus diversifying the landscape of historical studies, historical exhibitions and museums.1 The United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO 2003) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS 2004) have both noted in recent times how the museum world is experiencing noteworthy transformations due to this global recognition of the urgent need to preserve both intangible and tangible heritage resources in the face of the accelerated pace of cultural and economic globalisation; and the improbability that museums can cope with housing collections that reflect their nation’s ethnic diversity.2 The Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage, adopted at the 32nd session of the General Conference of UNESCO on 17 October 2003, notes that UNESCO considers the disappearance of heritage in whatever form constitutes an impoverish-ment of the heritage of all nations. Although in Australia, there has, over the last two decades, been a growing public interest in preserving ‘cultural heritage’, evidence for a working template for migrants has been slow to materialize. British imperialist/colonial history continues to be the most recognized heritage, and although since the 1980s, heritage places valued by Indigenous peoples have added to the richness of Australian heritage awareness, as yet, the ‘New World’ heritage of migrants goes unacknowledged.