The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

Handwriting is a means of communication that connects people and is passed on from generation to generation. Writing by hand is the process of moving a pen over paper in such a way that the characters can be read by the writer and others. For a long time now, people all over the world have demonstrated the need to express themselves in writing. Just as we use Latin writing as a means of communication, other cultures use Arabic, Chinese or Hebrew writing as a means of expression. When passing on the writing, two factors are important: the readability (the design) and the perfecting of the writability (the efficiency).

By means of handwriting, knowledge, art and skills are transferred and further development, civilisation and culture are stimulated. Moreover, writing by hand has an aesthetic dimension, such as penmanship and calligraphy. It also stimulates the development of the brain. In handwriting, the writer not only passes on thoughts, but also expresses his own feelings and personality.

 

Community

Anyone who writes by hand is a practitioner of handwriting, which makes it a widely supported craft. The Platform Handschriftontwikkeling (Platform Handwriting Development) functions as an umbrella point of contact for safeguarding the craft and as a helpdesk and information point for handwriting in the Netherlands. Other parties are also involved, such as: Klassenpost, Mercator & Stroes in motion. Parents and teachers pass on the handwriting to the next generation by teaching and maintaining it. Our educational legislation, the Primary Education Act, requires pupils to have a smooth and readable handwriting.

History

The handwriting arose from the need to communicate information in a different way than by means of oral transmission, by capturing it in a readable way for others. In the course of time, this was expressed, for example, in rock drawings, hieroglyphs, cuneiform writing and characters. The development of writing as a cultural phenomenon and the emergence of alphabetical writing can be traced back to around 1800 BC. The Semites entered highly developed Egypt, where they found a pictorial script that included hieroglyphs. The Semites designed a semantic alphabet from this mixture of hieroglyphs and letters: the sound became the starting point of the typeface.

In fact, it is quite recent that writing is practiced by all sections of the population. Since the Primary Education Act of 1920, every child has been taught to write at school; it has been part of the Dutch subject since the Primary Education Act of 1981.

Over the years, handwriting has developed in a natural way, whereby it is constantly updated and adapted under the influence of the valuations of each subsequent cultural period. With the rise of digital, handwriting comes under pressure, but writing by hand remains very personal, distinguishable from typing on a keyboard.

Safeguarding

In order to safeguard Handwriting for the future, the following actions are taken:

  • Every year, a national day/week of handwriting is organised, with an emphasis on heritage.
  • Annually, Klassenpost is organised, which advocates handwritten communication between schools.
  • Guest lessons, lectures and workshops are provided on request.
  • Writing games are developed for young people, in which writing by hand is brought to the attention in a playful way.

 

Contact

Platform Handschriftontwikkeling
De Hazelaar 41
6903 BB
Zevenaar
Gelderland
Website