On March 29, 2011, a meeting was held, in the National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney, for stakeholders in the Dutch Australian Heritage Cooperation Project, initiated by "the *Centre for International Heritage Activities*," located in the 'Museum Volkenkunde', in Leiden, The Netherlands.
.
youtube:video_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn6tWgIcXXg
.
"Stakeholders are an integral part of a project.
They are *the end-users or clients, the people from whom requirements will be drawn, *the people who will influence the design and, ultimately, *the people who will reap the benefits of a completed project."_
*To me,* it seemed that the _end-users_ or _clients of_ _*this project*_ , ( but particularly the _'guys' who are making 'projects here' *happen*_ ) were *under-represented,* at this meeting.
_"It is extremely important to involve stakeholders in all phases of projects for two reasons:
Firstly, experience shows that their involvement in the project significantly increases chances of success by building in a self-correcting feedback loop; Secondly, involving them in the project builds confidence in the product and will greatly ease its acceptance in your target audience."_
*To me*, The meeting in the National Maritime Museum was *one good start.*
_"There are different types of stakeholders and each type should be handled differently:"_
_*Executive*
"Executive stakeholders are the guys who pay the bills. Typically they are managers or directors who are involved with commercial objectives for the project.They should restrict themselves to commercial considerations and be actively discouraged from being involved in technical design, their experience and skills are vastly different to that of 'typical' end-users."_
*This would be the Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE) which is an independent, non-profit organization for international knowledge exchange about the heritage of the European expansion and international heritage cooperation.
* (The CIE is involved in the management of international heritage programmes and stimulates academic research on the heritage of the European expansion.)
_*End-User*_
_"These are the guys that are going to use the product. No one knows more about what the product is supposed to do when it hits their desks than they do."_
*That would be us* (Dutch-Australians) and our Australian friends and the rest of Australian society, plus visitors!
_*Expert*_
_"Sometimes you need input from experts in other fields. People like graphic designers, support reps, sales or sometime lawyers and accountants."_
*My impression of the meeting held in the National Maritime Museum is that it consisted of a vast majority of these *'experts'._*
*I had hoped for much more participation by the 'end-users'.* I believe these to be the Dutch-Australians who inform fellow-Australian about Dutch heritage ...._out there,_ in the community.
I.e., those Dutch-Australians who are carrying on the actual (often voluntary-) work that makes things happen.
Which really brings me to the point that was made by Mr Theo ten Brummelaar and which relates to *my* point:
I would have liked to have seen there, for example, the women and men who run the Rembrandt Club, Concordia Club, Dutch-Australian Society in the Illawarra, the Instuif Groups, the Neerlandia Club, the "Echoes from the Past" work-groups, etc..!!!
THESE are the people who bring Dutch-Australians, from the Central Coast, to the Illawarra together and keep these networks alive!
.
*In summary* : It was good that *something* was organised to bring *some* of the 'stakeholders' together. It would have been good to have included more end-users, who roll up their sleeves and make it work!
youtube:video_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSjtQdwWrg
| 
