Director of the National Restauratiefonds (NRF) in the Netherlands, Uğur Özcan, along with his colleague, Coen Reinders (a member of the management team), visited Aruba at the end of November. During this visit, Anne Witsenburg, director of the Monumentsfund Aruba, toured various projects and monuments with the representatives of NRF.

This allowed them to get an overview of projects funded by NRF and potential future funding opportunities. Additionally, they met various stakeholders and discussed current issues related to monuments. One ongoing initiative involves NRF collaborating with SMFA to establish a Revolving Fund, enabling owners of protected monuments to seek financing for restoring their homes or buildings. Information was also shared about the Dutch Caribbean Heritage Platform, facilitating expertise and knowledge exchange among all the islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The visit also involved discussions regarding the Cas Veneranda project, wherein NRF will finance a significant portion of the restoration project. Currently, SMFA, in partnership with architect Hoevertsz, is conducting necessary research to finalize the design. SMFA awaits the completion of the process with the notary to sign the transfer and start the restoration of the building, which will be financed by NRF and APFA.

Finally, a service agreement with NRF was signed, where NRF will make funds available for local monument owners to apply for financing through NRF, with each application being evaluated by the Monumententsfund Aruba.

Gratitude was expressed to Mr. Özcan and Mr. Reinders for their visit to Aruba, with hopes for continued collaboration in preserving Aruba’s monuments.