Germany supports projects all over the world aiming at the protection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. These projects take place in diverse cooperations and at the invitation of host and partner countries. The large number of major and smaller projects however makes it difficult to be aware of the variety of the cooperations.
CulturalHeritage.news provides a platform to report about these projects. Articles in English can be sent to culthernews@dainst.de. At the same time we actively take up articles from the internet about German preservation projects abroad. The intention is to make visible the German involvement, enhance knowledge about running projects and promote communication.
Archaeological Heritage Network
CulturalHeritage.news is connected to the „Archaeological Heritage Network“ (ArcHerNet). The Network brings together German expertise in the field of cultural preservation and cultural heritage protection. The objective is to make this expertise available for cultural preservation projects in other countries too. ArcHerNet is coordinated by the German Archaeological Institute and is promoted by the Federal Foreign Office.
Cultural Preservation Programme of The Federal Foreign Office
Since 1981 the Federal Republic of Germany has supported the preservation of cultural heritage throughout the world as part of the Federal Foreign Office’s Cultural Preservation Programme, with the aim of protecting and preserving cultural identity and diversity thus fostering cultural dialogue among partners.
Between 1981 and 2018 more than 2860 projects in 144 countries received support totalling around 80 million euros. Most of these projects had the goal of preserving historical cultural property abroad, although support is also provided for measures to preserve German cultural property in other countries.
In recent years projects funded by this programme have made a major contribution in the field of crisis prevention.
Protecting and maintaining cultural identity and its diversity is one of the priorities of the Federal office’s cultural work abroad. The preservation of cultural heritage supports the cause of peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding.
The fields of activity of the Federal Foreign Office’s Cultural Preservation Programme are broad, ranging from the restoration of wall paintings in temples and the conservation and renovation of important buildings to the digitisation of manuscripts, films, sound archives and publications depicting cultural property. The Cultural Preservation Programme fosters transfer of knowledge and cultural dialogue among partners. Cultural heritage projects are usually developed and implemented in cooperation between experts and the local population. Projects are often supplemented with a training component in the area of conservation and restoration.
The Cultural Preservation Programme of the Federal Foreign Office is also an instrument of German foreign policy in crisis regions.
There has been a growing awareness of the stabilizing character of cultural preservation measures in recent years. In the light of the vast destruction of cultural property as well as the onslaught from natural disasters, the Federal Foreign Office and its German and international partners, including the German Archaeological Institute, UNESCO, private foundations as well as universities are working to preserve major historical and cultural testimonies to the history of mankind.
Indication of Source
For more information, visit:
Sources and projects are quoted and linked to at the bottom of each particular blogpost. If you want to share information about your projects please send us an article including pictures in sufficient resolution and picture credits.