Holland: A museum without walls

Holland's first virtual museum is devoted to its oldest pain and pride: immigration. Holland has got its first virtual museum: the mobile, interactive Museum for Diversity, devoted to the 500-year-long history of immigration to Holland and the cultural mix it brought along. It even seems strange that, in a country populated by representatives of 190 different ethnicities, no one had thought of such a museum before. "No other museum like mine exists," confirms Reza Atlaschi (40), the creator of the Museum for Immigration and Diversity (Museum voor immigratie en diversiteit). "I call it Museum Without Walls, which also goes well with its main theme 'immigration, which in effect overcomes any wall," Atlaschi says. The museum was conceived within the framework of a recent all-national competition 'Inspiration for Integration' organised by De Baak institute (De Baak — Inspiratie voor Integratie). "The museum is based on two pillars. On the one hand, it is the history of immigration to Holland since the 15th century. I started with a simple historical overview with pictures. Eventually, we will be acquiring copies of international treaties and more detailed material," Atlaschi says. His second pillar is the web's sacred principle of interactivity and immediacy. The virtual museum is also an educational portal. "Within several months, I hope to collect digital contributions from young people across the country. However I am only going to post contributions that approach the topic of immigration from a positive view-point. My intention is not to engage in propaganda or anything of the kind, it is the facts that speak for themselves," Atlaschi says. Holland has a unique immigration history that began hundreds of years ago and that is for some reason unfashionable to talk about, he continues. "Of course, my idea can be perceived as a political one. But I am going to rely on the cultural heritage and not the Dutch polder model that can hardly be applied if you really want to make change. Modernity catalyzes the learning process – people are trying to do more and faster; they no longer have time to visit museums at the weekend. I offer a flash-museum," Atlaschi says. Visit the museum at http://www.droommuseum.nl/ //Read the full story here