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$ 30 million will be spent over the next three years to rehabilitate heritage in conflict zones. A first international call for projects is open until March 15, launched by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Zones (Aliph). This young Swiss foundation and international organization was created by France and the United Arab Emirates in 2017, following the Abu Dhabi Conference of December 2016 on the protection of heritage at risk. The call is for projects that prevent, protect or restore places or buildings that have been damaged by conflict in Africa, the Middle East or any other region.
Since last summer, the Aliph began its mission, supporting several concrete projects, including the reconstruction of the monastery of Mar Behnam destroyed by Daesh in 2015. Located in the north of Iraq, it is a symbolic place of pilgrimage for Muslims, Christians, Yazidis. The project was carried by the French NGO Fraternité en Irak , an architect worked on site with local teams and an Iraqi archaeologist. Assistance from the International Alliance for the Protection of World Heritage in Conflict Zone amounted to $ 250,000.
Rebuild Mosul Museum
The Aliph is also working on the rehabilitation of the Mosul museum. The Smithsonian Institution, an American scientific research institution, the Louvre Museum and the Iraqi authorities in charge of heritage, are studying the possibilities of rehabilitation. Field missions are still difficult as the area is mined and security is poorly secured. But the recommendations made by these two major institutions will allow the Iraqi authorities to make decisions about the museum. For now, the Aliph is supporting the study to the tune of $ 480,000. For reconstruction, other partners will intervene.
A first international call
Valery Freland is the Executive Director of Aliph. This first international call will select projects wherever there is a conflict zone, a post-conflict zone or a zone of tension (terrorism, interstate war, civil war), in Africa, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, he explains.
" We intervene wherever there is a conflict zone or a post-conflict zone, or even a zone of tension. So we think of countries like Iraq, like Mali, but there are many others.
It goes from an inventory of a museum to the digitization of its collections, through protection in the field, sandbags, etc., to protect a collection, or the restoration of a museum. So, really, it's very broad, and you have to present your project through an NGO, an international organization, cultural institutions ... "
Projects, large or small, should be presented through an international organization or local NGO experienced in this type of difficult area. Aliph currently has $ 60 million on hand, $ 30 million will be spent over the next three years.
Emergency aid
The foundation also intervenes urgently. Any operator who needs a fast patrimonial protection can seize the Aliph via his website. Emergency aid can range up to $ 75,000, with quick responses, for example, to pay for the rebuilding of walls or windows to protect collections.
The foundation is funded by many private and public donors: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Morocco, China and Switzerland. Swiss patron Jean Claude Gandur, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and American collector and patron Thomas S. Kaplan. The selected projects will be studied by a scientific committee chaired by Jean-Luc Martinez, president of the Louvre. The call for tenders will be closed on March 15th, with decisions in June.
► For more details: https://www.aliph-foundation.org/