U.S. Relations with the People's Republic of China (2006)

U.S. Department of State

Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 3, 2006

Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation Awards for 2006 Support Cultural Preservation in 76 Countries

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, is pleased to announce that the 2006 Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation awards will support 87 cultural preservation projects in 76 countries. The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, created by Congress in 2001, aims to assist less developed countries in preserving museum collections, ancient and historic sites, and traditional forms of expression.

"When establishing the Ambassador's Fund, Congress emphasized that U.S. efforts in preserving the heritage of other cultures demonstrate America's appreciation and respect for those cultures," said Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Dina Habib Powell. "Over the past six years, the Fund has awarded 379 preservation grants in 108 countries, illustrating our commitment to helping people around the world preserve and protect their rich cultural traditions."

The Ambassador's Fund projects, totaling $3 million in 2006, represent the heritage of all geographic regions and encompass the preservation of museum collections and archives, historic building restoration, and ethnographic documentation, to include:

• Restoring two mosques on the island of Pemba in Tanzania that contain unique features combining Swahili and Persian architecture dating from the 17th to 18th centuries;
• Preserving 50 mosaics dating from the 5th to 10th century Forgotten Cities of Northern Syria that originally decorated the floors and walls of churches, estates, and bathhouses;
• Documenting traditional iso-polyphonic music unique to Albania and recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, which is threatened by pop culture;
• Conserving house structures dating from 1500 BC to 400 AD in the archaeological site at Chiripa, Bolivia;
• Restoring Nag Bahal Hiti, a water supply system dating from 500 AD that is today a major source of water for residents of Patan and part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site in Nepal;
• Conserving a collection of Buddhist Sutra manuscripts in China from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (15th and 16th centuries), originally found in temples from the same era; and
• Preserving Nabataean period (1st century BC) frescos in the caves in Beidha, Jordan that reflect themes similar to those found in Pompeii and Alexandria.

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center administers the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/afcp/). Through a range of cultural preservation activities, the Bureau promotes cooperation with other countries to reduce the threat of pillage of irreplaceable cultural heritage, and to develop long-term strategies for preserving cultural property.