Collaboration between archives of the Netherlands and Suriname renewed

The aim is to better preserve the documentary heritage of the shared past for the future, and to increase the visibility and accessibility of important Surinamese archives.

On Friday 9 May, an i2S A2 CopiBook Open System was installed at the Stichting Surinaams Museum. As part of the International Heritage Cooperation program, the National Archives of the Netherlands installed this scanner at the Surinaams Museum. The high-quality scanner will be used to digitize unique archival documents, like plantation administrations, photos and printed matter from the collection of the Surinaams Museum.

A few days later, on 14 May, the National Archives of Suriname (NAS) and the National Archives of the Netherlands (NAN) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The Dutch Ambassador to Suriname, Walter Oostelbos, attended the ceremony. The MoU includes agreements for the years 2025-2028 regarding the preservation, digitization, and online accessibility of archives that are relevant to the historiography of both countries, as well as capacity building and knowledge exchange regarding both analog and digital archive management. Director of the Ministry of the Interior of Suriname, Mr. Eskak, and the director of NAN, Afelonne Doek, signed this MoU.

In the context of the International Heritage Cooperation program, a second A1 SupraScan scanner was put into service, financed by the Netherlands. With this second scanner and the included equipment, the digitization capacity of the NAS has been doubled. The coming years several collections from the 19th and 20th century will be restored, digitized and made available online for the public.

The signing ceremony of the MoU and the festive handover of the brand-new scanner mark a wonderful collaboration between the national archives of both countries.