ALIPH Newsletter #8 | ALIPH responds to the climate crisis

ALIPH Newsletter | no 8, July 2024

ALIPH responds to the climate crisis

First envelope of USD 10 million to protect cultural heritage approved

Dear reader,

USD 10 million: this is the amount attributed to the new Call for Projects that ALIPH has just launched to help combat the impact of climate change on cultural heritage, with a priority focus on Africa

ALIPH will select field-based projects that provide concrete solutions for the protection or rehabilitation of heritage sites and monuments, and for the protection of collections of museums, archives or libraries, or intangible heritage practices. Projects may also involve training components, particularly in traditional know-how, or actionable research in the field.

Drawing on its expertise in implementing rapid, concrete responses, ALIPH is adapting to new threats and has developed a strategy to protect cultural heritage in the face of climate change.

This Call is open to NGOs and civil society organizations, cultural heritage protection institutions, private organizations working in this field, as well as universities, and research centers.

Deadline: 21 November 2024

Archaeological site of Apollonia in Libya damaged by the storm in September 2023 © Iconem

ALIPH continues its mobilization to protect cultural heritage in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, and Afghanistan

Adoption of 12 new major heritage protection projects in crisis areas

At the invitation of ALIPH’s member state, Morocco, the 13th Foundation Board meeting was held on 27 June 2024 at the Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences in Marrakech.

This museum was damaged by the earthquake on 8 September 2023 as well as two other museums in the city – the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets, Dar Si Saïd, and the Museum of Intangible Heritage, Jamaâ el-Fna. These three museums have been restored or are in the process of being restored under the stewardship of the National Foundation of Museums of Morocco, chaired by Mehdi Qotbi, with the financial support from ALIPH (USD 1.2 million).

At this meeting chaired by Bariza Khiari, the ALIPH Foundation Board approved 12 new projects. With total funding of USD 2.6 million, these new projects will be implemented notably in Afghanistan, Haiti, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria.

For more information: Press release

Mes Aynak: an archeological site of exceptional value in Afghanistan, currently the subject of a comprehensive preservation program supported by ALIPH and implemented by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture

ALIPH engaged to safeguard heritage in Ukraine and Gaza

Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ALIPH has developed rapid intervention mechanisms to respond to crises (wars, natural disasters, etc )

This is how since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, ALIPH has committed USD 7 2 million to protect the buildings and collections of over 400 museums, libraries, and archives, including those located in the regions most impacted by the war.

The Foundation has also supported the emergency documentation of more than 120 monuments and sites as well as several hundred cultural heritage professionals Of the 202 projects ALIPH has funded, 160 have been completed. These projects have been funded in part by the European Union (Foreign Policy Instrument - FPI), U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, Getty Trust, and the Principality of Monaco

Ukraine Gaza

In 2024, ALIPH also launched an action plan with an initial envelope of USD 1 million to safeguard the cultural heritage affected by the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Within the currently challenging operational context, the following initiatives have been approved for a total of USD 377,700:

Training on First Aid for Cultural Heritage for professionals from the West Bank and Gaza;

Evacuation and protection of collections from two Gaza museums;

Emergency documentation and stabilization of three damaged heritage sites in Gaza, including the Al Omari Mosque

Al Omari Mosque in Gaza, 2007 © John Turdi, RIWAQ Archive

Raising Public Awareness: ALIPH Exhibits in Beijing and Kuwait City

The National Museum of China dedicates a major exhibition to ALIPH and its projects

From 6 June to 5 September 2024, China, an ALIPH member state since its creation in 2017, is hosting the exhibition "Salvaged from the Shadows, Protecting Heritage" at the National Museum of China (NMC) in Beijing.

In the center: Bariza Khiari, Chair of the ALIPH Foundation Board, and Mounir Bouchenaki, Chair (ad interim) of the Scientific Committee, surrounded by the Foundation team and three representatives of partner organizations at the opening on 6 June 2024 in Beijing © ALIPH

For the first time on this scale, this 1,000 square-meter exhibition, co-curated by ALIPH and the NMC provides an overview of the Foundation's work around the world.

A selection of the 450 projects in 35 countries implemented by local and international partners that ALIPH has supported is showcased through various media (photos, videos, 3D videos, 3D printed

Guided tours by the curators of the exhibition at the opening on 6 June 2024 © ALIPH

Through the five sections of the exhibition, the visitor is invited to learn about some of the notable examples of heritage destruction over the last thirty years, from Mali to Iraq; the steps that led to the creation and development of the new multilateral instrument that became ALIPH; the techniques required for the protection of heritage sites or damaged collections in Mali, Niger, Lebanon, Iraq; as well as the preservation of traditional know-how in Afghanistan.

Presentations of the types of earth used in earthen architecture, in collaboration with OnEarthStudio © ALIPH

Architecture students of the Beijing

The exhibition also pays tribute to the women and men on the ground committed to making heritage a vector for peace and sustainable development. The exhibition concludes with immersive projections of 3D images, produced by the French start-up Iconem, that demonstrate the exceptional beauty of these threatened heritage sites.

Section dedicated to the restoration of manuscripts at the Djenné library in Mali © ALIPH

Extract of a video on the preservation of intangible heritage of Afghanistan © Turquoise Mountain

Civil Engineering University who contributed to the construction of examples of earthen walls, in collaboration with OnEarthStudio © ALIPH

Immersive projections of 3D images produced by the French start-up Iconem © ALIPH – Valéry Freland

This exhibition would not have been possible without the unfailing commitment of the Foundation's public and private donors, as well as the operators on the ground that ALIPH supports, three of whom attended the opening.

Dr. Maria Luisa Russo, Founder of the AMALIA Association, saw her organization’s work to preserve manuscripts in Mali on display alongside a facsimile of a manuscript from Djenné;

Dr. Sandrine Melki, Project Manager at the Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement (IECD), lent decorative objects from the restored historical Villa Al Makassed in Beirut;

Dr. Nadine Panayot, Curator of the Archaeological Museum at the American University of Beirut provided 3D scans of restored glass objects damaged by the Beirut Blast, which were 3D printed in China and displayed alongside videos and images provided by her museum.

For more information, see the exhibition trailer and catalogue:

ALIPH would like to thank all its partners who contributed to this exhibition.

With the support of the Embassy of France and Institut Français in China

The curators of the exhibition: Zhu Xiayoun (National Museum of China) Bastien Varoutsikos (ALIPH) Sandra Bialystok (ALIPH)

From left to right: Maria Luisa Russo, Sandrine Melki, Nadine Panayot @ ALIPH

Kuwait honors ALIPH’s work

Kuwait, another ALIPH member state, hosted an exhibition about ALIPH and the projects it supports in May 2024 at the Yarmouk Cultural Centre in Kuwait City, entitled "Restoring the Past, Preserving our Future: Protecting Endangered Heritage."

It was organized at the initiative of the Ambassador of the European Union to the State of Kuwait Ms. Anne Koistinen, in partnership with ALIPH, Sheikhah Hussa al Sabah, Director General of Dar al-Athar alIslamiyyah and former member of the ALIPH Foundation Board, as well as the National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters of Kuwait.

Through this photo exhibition, the public discovered ALIPH's work to protect and rehabilitate heritage in crisis zones, including Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, and Ukraine.

A big thank you to all our donors

ALIPH carries out its work thanks to the support of its:

Member States:

Private donor members:

Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan | J. Paul Getty Trust | Fondation Gandur pour l'art

Host country: Switzerland

Non-member donors:

U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation | Fondation TotalEnergies | Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | Lionel Sauvage Family Foundation

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