As part of the 'Sharing Shared Heritage'-project, the KDC has piloted the digital perservation of missionary heritage located in Indonesia. The orphanage archive is a unique precedent: Dutch-language sources on a Catholic youth care institution in Semarang, where several thousands of (Indo-)European children grew up during the colonial period. The preserved records - including family registers, minutes, chronicles and photographs - offer a unique insight into their daily lives and the wider colonial, religious and social networks surrounding institutional youth education.
After Indonesian independence, the orphanage continued to exist. Gradually, the administration and care was handed over to Indonesian clergy, while the number of Dutch pupils decreased, Indonesian and Chinese children were taken in. The original archives always remained in Semarang and to this day are managed by the Indonesian legal successor of the orphanage board. Thanks to intensive cooperation with this owner, the collection has now been preserved, made accessible and digitised.
The archive inventory will be made available online through the KDC's website by 13 June 2025. Find more information about the seminar here.