The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation
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08-21126 CulPresAReport07Cvr_default:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:36 AM Page 1 THEU.S.AMBASSADORSFUNDFOR CULTURALPRESERVATION ANNUAL 06|07 REPORT UNITEDSTATESDEPARTMENTOFSTATE 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Cvr_default:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:36 AM Page 2 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:44 AM Page 1 UNITEDSTATESDEPARTMENTOFSTATE THEU.S.AMBASSADORSFUNDFOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION ANNUAL 06|07 REPORT A report of grants made in fiscal year 2006 and implemented in 2007 1 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:44 AM Page 2 Message from the Assistant Secretary of State n behalf of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) United States Department of State, I am pleased to present this report on the OU.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. Since its creation by Congress in 2001, the fund has supported 377 cultural preservation projects in developing countries—-- an impressive achievement representing contributions of more than $9 million to cultural preservation worldwide. Through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Department provides funding in response to cultural preservation needs around the globe, and the United States demonstrates its respect for the cultural heritage of other countries. The variety of projects supported by the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation continues to expand. In 2006, the fund supported, for example, the documentation of the remains of St. Nicholas Church in Stolac and Ferhadija Mosque in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, both destroyed during the ethnic strife and conflict of the last decade. The fund also supported the restoration of the impressive Alamgiri Gate, the entrance to Lahore Fort in Pakistan through which thousands of people pass each day. In the Americas, the fund supported the preservation of recently discovered Maya murals in Guatemala—the most significant discovery in Mesoamerica in this generation. Also among the 85 projects funded in 2006 are efforts to document regional music and dance traditions in Madagascar; to conserve a collection of altars, ancestral tables, carved wooden chests, and other Buddhist and ances- tral devotional objects in Vietnam; and to stabilize the foundation and retaining walls of the 18th-century El Pacha Mosque in the Algerian city of Oran. Joseph A. Mussomeli, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, said “Without knowledge of our past and respect for our history, we are rootless and lost. The past ought to be an inspiration and a source of creativity for those who live today.” We heartily agree with Ambassador Mussomeli and are pleased that the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation can support that vital endeavor. G o l i A m e r i Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs 2 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:44 AM Page 3 Alamgiri Gate, Lahore Fort, Pakistan U.S. Embassy Islamabad 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:45 AM Page 4 Bell tower, St. Nicholas Church U.S. Embassy Kiev 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:45 AM Page 5 O u r M i s s i o n About the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation he U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation provides direct grant support for the preservation of significant cultural sites, objects and museum T collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression in developing countries in all regions of the world. Established by Congress in 2001 (Public Law 106–553) and administered by the Cultural Heritage Center within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is the only program of its kind in the U.S. government. In establishing the fund, Congress underscored the importance of cultural preservation in the advance- ment of U.S. diplomatic goals. About the Cultural Heritage Center he Cultural Heritage Center supports the foreign affairs functions of the Department that relate to the preservation of cultural heritage. In addition to T the Ambassadors Fund, the Center administers U.S. responsibilities relating to the 1970 UNESCO convention to reduce pillage and illicit trafficking in cultural property. 5 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:45 AM Page 6 Restoration of Dar Al-Diyafa, the Old Court Building U.S. Embassy Sana’a 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:45 AM Page 7 Grant Allocations in 2006 R EGION N O . OF P ROJECTS F UND A MOUNT Africa 20 $555,590 The Americas 16 $430,737 East Asia & the Pacific 13 $380,015 Europe & Eurasia 13 $406,825 Middle East & North Africa 08 $429,505 South & Central Asia 15 $530,561 Total 85 $2,733,233 Regional Distribution of Projects • 2006 Types of Projects • 2006 The Americas Africa Forms of Traditional 16% 20% Cultural Expression 16% South & Central Asia East Asia & 19% the Pacific 14% Cultural Sites Cultural Objects 59% & Collections 25% Europe & Eurasia Middle East & North 15% Africa 16% Response to the Call for Proposals • 2006 Cumulative Distribution of Funds • 2001–06 R EGION NUMBER OF TOTAL AMOUNT PROPOSALS REQUESTED The Americas Africa 18% 23% Africa 48 $1,335,697 TheAmericas 27 $735,531 East Asia & 21 $639,214 the Pacific South & Central Asia 16% Europe&Eurasia 26 $748,843 East Asia & the Pacific MiddleEast& 14 $780,774 13% North Africa South & 28 $786,269 Middle East & North Europe & Eurasia Central Asia Africa 15% 15% Total 164 $5,026,328 7 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:46 AM Page 8 Left to right: Arabic manuscripts at the Lebanese National Library Foundation U.S. Embassy Beirut; Dar Ben Abdallah palace U.S. Embassy Tunis; History of Medicine painting undergoing conservation, Philippine General Hospital U.S. Embassy Manila; “Jesusito” before restoration, Izalco, El Salvador Izalcutur; Albanian Iso-polyphonic singers U.S. Embassy Tirana; late Bronze Age mold from Kokino archaeological site Jovica Stankovski; Gonur-Depe U.S. Embassy Ashgabat 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:54 AM Page 9 2006 in Review Program Implementation In 2006, U.S. ambassadors in 100 eligible countries On January 27, 2006, the Bureau of Educational and submitted 164 project proposals totaling more than $5 Cultural Affairs issued a request for proposals for cultural million. The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation preservation projects in the following three categories— awarded 85 grants totaling $2.7 million to 74 countries in all • Cultural sites regions of the world. • Cultural objects and collections of objects from a site, a museum, or similar institution The 124 countries eligible for support • Forms of traditional cultural expression in 2006 were: AFGHANISTAN,ALBANIA,ALGERIA, The proposals had to give an indication of the impor- ANGOLA,ARMENIA,AZERBAIJAN,BANGLADESH,BELARUS,BELIZE, BENIN,BHUTAN,BOLIVIA,BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA,BOTSWANA, tance of the site, object, collection, or form of expression; BRAZIL,BULGARIA,BURKINA FASO,BURMA,BURUNDI,CAMBODIA, address the need and urgency of the proposed project; and CAMEROON,CAPE VERDE,CHAD,CHINA,COLOMBIA,COMOROS, describe the impact of the U.S. contribution to the project DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO,REPUBLIC OF CONGO, CÔTE D'IVOIRE,DJIBOUTI,DOMINICA,DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,ECUADOR, and how that contribution would advance U.S. diplomatic EGYPT,EL SALVADOR,ERITREA,ETHIOPIA,FIJI,GABON,GAMBIA, goals. They also had to include detailed project budgets and GEORGIA,GHANA,GRENADA,GUATEMALA,GUINEA,GUINEA-BISSAU, information on cost-sharing partners (including in-kind con- GUYANA,HAITI,HONDURAS,INDIA,INDONESIA,IRAQ,JAMAICA, tributions) from foreign governments, international organiza- JORDAN,KAZAKHSTAN,KENYA,KOSOVO,KYRGYZSTAN,LAOS,LEBANON, LESOTHO,LIBERIA,LIBYA,MACEDONIA,MADAGASCAR,MALAWI, tions, and the private sector. MALAYSIA,MALDIVES,MALI,MARSHALL ISLANDS,MAURITANIA, The Bureau announced the cultural preservation grants MAURITIUS,MEXICO,MICRONESIA,MOLDOVA,MONGOLIA,MOROCCO, on August 2, 2006. MOZAMBIQUE,NAMIBIA,NEPAL,NICARAGUA,NIGER,NIGERIA, OMAN,PAKISTAN,PANAMA,PAPUA NEW GUINEA,PARAGUAY,PERU, PHILIPPINES,ROMANIA,RUSSIAN FEDERATION,RWANDA,SAINT LUCIA, 2006 by the Numbers SAINT VINCENT &THE GRENADINES,SAMOA,SAUDI ARABIA,SENEGAL, Largest grant awarded: $111,000, for the Restoration SERBIA &MONTENEGRO,SIERRA LEONE,SOLOMON ISLANDS, of Dar Al-Diyafa (the Old Court building) in the Yemeni city SOUTH AFRICA,SRI LANKA,SUDAN,SURINAME,SWAZILAND,SYRIA, TAJIKISTAN,TANZANIA,THAILAND,TIMOR LESTE,TOGO,TONGA, of Zabid, a World Heritage Site TUNISIA,TURKEY,TURKMENISTAN,UGANDA,UKRAINE,UZBEKISTAN, Average grant amount: $32,156 VANUATU,VENEZUELA,VIETNAM,YEMEN,ZAMBIA,ZIMBABWE. The Cultural Heritage Center used the United Nations Human Development Index for the year 2005 as a guide for determining eligible countries. The fund has supported 377 projects worldwide totaling $9.4 million since 2001. 9 08-21126 CulPresAReport07Ins_JPG:Cultural Preservation 2007 10/23/08 8:54 AM Page 10 Cultural Sites Cultural Objects Projects by Subcategory, 2006 ultural sites can inform a nation about its past. General Museum Archaeological Each historic element is like a piece in a puzzle: The Conservation Collections Cpreservation of those different elements, whether a 14% 14% structure or site, can bring understanding to the present and establish a cultural inheritance for future