International visitors: heritage delegation USA

Albany was founded as Fort Nassau in the former colony of New Netherland in 1624. Director-general of the New Netherland colony, Peter Stuyvesant, later expanded the fort with the Beverwyck settlement which is now know as the city of Albany.

Shared cultural heritage is one of the priorities of the Netherlands’ international cultural policy. In this framework the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), Netherlands Consulate General in New York City and DutchCulture will host a delegation from Albany, New York. This visit is part of a larger project in which various cultural and tourism organizations and institutions aim to promote the city of Albany, capital city of the State New York. The goal is to make Albany even more a place where visitors and residents can learn and experience the shared past of the Netherlands and the United States. The participating organizations and institutions want to make this unique past more tangible in Albany, and collaborate on this with Dutch experts.

The delegation consists of:

• Ms Jessica Neidl, Director of Local Government and University Editor at the State University of New York;
• Ms Georgette Steffens Altimari, Executive Director at Downtown Albany Business Improvement District;
• Ms Maeve McEneny, Program Coordinator at Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau;
• Mr Bill Brandow, Project Manager/Associate at John G. Waite Associates, Vice Chair at Architects & Albany Historic Resources Commission;
• Mr Cordell Reaves, Historic Preservation Programs Analyst at NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation;
• Mr Dennis Maika, Senior Historian and Education Director at New Netherland Institute;
• and Mr Mark Schaming, Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education at the New York State Education Department and Director of the New York State Museum.

The delegation will visit, among others, the Rembrandthuis, the Museum of the Canals, the US Consulate General in Amsterdam, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands in Amersfoort and the Westfries Museum in Hoorn.