Buurtwinkels

Buurtwinkel (neighborhood store) is a new online platform with stories, articles and photos of local shops in Amsterdam, commissioned by the Amsterdam Historical Museum (AHM). The website is an online platform where anyone interested can make a contribution. The site gathers customer stories, interviews with entrepreneurs, virtual objects, photographs and film portraits relating to Buurtwinkels.

The website is the first step of a larger project to put local retailers in touch. In October 2009, AHM organized a series of meetings with stores and museums, interviewing entrepreneurs and recording stories. In autumn of 2010, some neighborhoods in Amsterdam will sponsor activities and have presentations of their developments. Then in 2011 the project will conclude with a grandiose exhibition at the AHM, showcasing how the project has contributed to participants and neighborhood development.

The Buurtwinkel project was created by the AHM in response to "Entrepreneurial Cultures in European Cities'. This is a collaboration between seven European city museums, ethnographic museums and cultural institutions. Their aim is to explore the possibilities of small and medium-size businesses contributing to an emerging European citizenship. The project focuses on economic, social and cultural strategies of entrepreneurs, many of whom have an immigrant background. The project also involves interaction with the customers and surrounding community. Intercultural dialogue is therefore an important and natural starting point in the implementation of this project.

The AHM urges anyone with a story, photo or object from a local shop (buurtwinkel) to participate.

buurtwinkels.ahm.nl/