Posted: January 21, 2026

Regio Deal Noord-Holland Noord grants subsidy to unique collaboration project of twelve museums

Alkmaar, 01-21-2026

The North Holland North Region Deal has approved the grant application for the ‘Connected in Diversity’ project with an amount of €1.2 million. This provides the collaboration of twelve medium-sized museums from the region with a multi-year financial contribution to intensely cooperate on education, diversity & inclusion, sustainability, digitalization, and joint visibility. With this decision, the Region Deal is investing in strengthening culture and heritage as
important pillars for broad prosperity in North Holland North. The project runs from 2026 to
and with 2029, aligning with the "Better Life" program, which focuses on livability, social cohesion, and regional attractiveness.

Stronger together as a region

The participating museums together represent a wide palette of stories: from
archaeology, war history and crafts to art, nature and maritime heritage. By
by pooling knowledge, capacity, and experience, a sustainable network is created that museums better
The state aims to address societal challenges.
Within the project, the museums work together on such things as:

• innovative educational programs for youth and schools;
• increasing accessibility and inclusion;
• sustainability of museum operations;
• digital innovation and data-driven work;
• joint marketing and tourism profiling of the region.

The collaboration deliberately focuses on medium-sized museums, which play a crucial role in the
cultural infrastructure of North Holland North, but often have limited resources to
to innovate independently.

Culture as an engine for broad prosperity

Museums fulfill an important societal function in the region.They contribute to
meeting, identity, education, and well-being, and also play a growing role in recreation
in tourism. With the Connected in Diversity project, this role is further strengthened
through structural cooperation, knowledge sharing and joint development. The project is being pulled by Museum BroekerVeiling and Huis van Hilde, in close cooperation with the other participating museums and with the involvement of educational institutions and the province of North Holland. The museums are: Museum BroekerVeiling, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, Huis van Hilde, Museum Kranenburg, Zaans Museum, Museum
Fort Kijkduin, Texel Museum Foundation, Museum of the Twentieth Century, Bakery Museum
Medemblik, Medemblik War Museum, Steam Tram Museum, and Westfries Museum.

Lasting impact

An important starting point of the project is that the collaboration will also continue after the
Regional Deal financing will continue. Therefore, not only will the coming four years be used for
worked on concrete activities, but also on sustainable structures, joint
working methods and long-term partnerships.
With the granting of this subsidy, North Holland North is taking an important step in
strengthening culture as a connecting force within the region.

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Note to editor: For more information, please contact Annemieke Min from
Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, tel 072-548 9753, annemieke@museumalkmaar.nl