Conclusion NLTR400 in the Netherlands

After 585 events in the Netherlands and Turkey, the NLTR400 Year is almost over. The year did not just consist of large-scale events by organisations such as the Rijksmuseum, Istanbul Modern, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Cermodern museum for modern art in Ankara and the Nederlands Dans Theater. There were also exchanges with Turkey at grassroots level in many Dutch cities and a revaluation of local Turkish culture. Thanks to the great diversity and commitment of many, the year was a great success for both countries.

The celebratory year was concluded in a festive fashion. In Turkey, this was marked by the visit of Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima. In the Netherlands, the Turkish government concluded the year with the opening of the exhibition Troy. City, Homer and Turkey. Never before has such an extensive collection of archaeological objects from Troy been exhibited in the Netherlands. The exhibition can be seen until 5 May in the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. The closing meeting in the Netherlands took place in the City Hall in Rotterdam. The Turkish vice-premier Ali Babacan and Kadir Topbaş paid a call there, as did Princess Maxima.

The conclusion of the celebratory year does, of course, not mean the end of the cultural exchange between the Netherlands and Turkey. The first projects for 2013 have already put themselves forward. SICA will continue to be closely involved in the cultural exchange between the Netherlands and Turkey in 2013. We will regularly be consulting with important cultural partners involved with Turkey. The site Cultural Exchange Turkey is being expanded every day. The official agenda at www.nltr400.nl/nl is stopping and will be archived, but an agenda is still going to be kept at Cultural Exchange. New contacts are being added to the index and there will be a new Dutch mapping. So keep us informed about all of your projects in and with Turkey, so that we are able to support you in your future activities.