Winner of the BNG Heritage Award 2024
The jury selected Nijmegen as the winner because this municipality views and treats post-1965 heritage as an equal part of its rich municipal history. Nijmegen is committed to promoting a strong appreciation of local heritage and makes that heritage highly visible in its well-maintained public spaces. As a result, residents experience heritage as a natural part of their environment. This makes Nijmegen an example for other municipalities in the Netherlands.
Read the jury's full assessment in the jury report here (only available in Dutch).
Winner of the Public Award 2024
This year, there was once again enthusiastic voting for the Public Award, which consists of the honour and a memento. With 547 votes out of more than 900, the Public Award 2024 also went to Nijmegen.
Symposium
During the symposium, organised by the municipality of Weert prior to the award ceremony, the audience was introduced to Weert's green heritage policy. This was illustrated by two case studies: the restoration of the De Lichtenberg open-air theatre and the integrated approach to the Kazerne site. John van Cauteren, director of the municipal Museum W, provided attendees with a broader perspective on the heritage of the municipality of Weert. This was followed by an excursion to notable heritage sites in Weert, such as the Castle Park, Museum W, St. Martin's Church and the Birgittinessen Monastery Garden. Finally, architectural historian Aimée Albers discussed the social dimension of post-1965 heritage: the role of citizens' initiatives in the urban renewal of the 1970s and 1980s.
The BNG Heritage Award
Since 2010, on the initiative of the Kunsten '92 Heritage Platform, a national award has been presented to the municipality with the best heritage policy: the BNG Heritage Award. The award encourages municipalities to actively promote cultural heritage, also with a view to strengthening policy areas such as tourism, culture, education, social affairs, spatial development and the economy. The main sponsor is BNG Cultuurfonds.
The jury for the BNG Heritage Award 2024 consists of Ina Adema (jury chair, King's Commissioner in North Brabant, chair of BNG Cultuurfonds); Susan Lammers (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands); Christian Pfeiffer (Huizer Museum); Karianne Vandenbroucke (Natuurmonumenten); Marielle Hendriks (Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland); Rabiaâ Benlahbib (Kunstfort Vijfhuizen and Creative Court) and Karlijn de Wild (restoration architect/building historian at Rothuizen).
