The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a New York-based private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training.
Founded in 1965, WMF was originally called the International Fund for Monuments. Today, WMF has offices and affiliates throughout the world.
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Preservation efforts
Through donations and matching funds, WMF has worked with local community and government partners worldwide to safeguard and conserve places of historic value for future generations. To date, more than 550 sites in over 90 countries, on all seven continents, have received assistance from the WMF. Among these are world-famous tourist spots like the temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia, the Château de Chantilly, France, the classical structures of Rome, several sites on Easter Island, the ancient Maya city of Naranjo, Guatemala, as well as 25 projects in Venice, Italy, over 20 years.
World Monuments Watch
Beginning in 1996, with the support of American Express, WMF has published biennially the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. The list serves as an advocacy tool to draw international attention to cultural heritage sites around the world threatened by contemporary neglect, vandalism, armed conflict, development, natural disaster, or climate change. Through the Watch, WMF fosters community support for the protection of endangered sites, and attracts technical and financial resources to aid the sites.
The sites are nominated by ministries of culture and international and local preservation groups and professionals. Sites of all types from archaeological sites to religious and secular architecture to land- and townscapes and from all time periods from ancient to contemporary are eligible. An independent panel of international experts review and then select 100 of these nominees to be part of the List.[1]
Owing to the nature of the organization backing the project, the WMF listing entails a different approach in site preservation when compared to the much publicized World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger maintained by UNESCO, although the WMF Watch list often has sites from the broader UNESCO List.
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Other projects
In 2006, the WMF launched Modernism at Risk, an advocacy and conservation program for Modern buildings.
The Hadrian Award
Every year, WMF gives the Hadrian Award to international leaders who have advanced the preservation of world art and architecture.
Recipients of the Hadrian Award
- 1988: Carlo De Benedetti
- 1989: Paul Mellon
- 1990: Charles, Prince of Wales
- 1991: Mrs. Vincent Astor
- 1992: Marella and Giovanni Agnelli
- 1993: Dominique de Menil
- 1994: David Rockefeller
- 1995: Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild
- 1996: Aga Khan IV
- 1997: Phyllis Lambert
- 1998: Richard Hampton Jenrette
- 1999: The Sainsbury Brothers - Tim Sainsbury, John Sainsbury, Simon Sainsbury
- 2000: Harvey Golub
- 2001: James Wolfensohn
- 2002: Hélène and Michel David-Weill
- 2003: Eugene Thaw
- 2004: Carlos Slim
- 2005: John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich
- 2006: Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
- 2007: Rahmi Koç, Semahat Arsel, Suna Kiraç, and the Koç family
- 2008: Houghton, Doreen, and Graeme Freeman and the Freeman Foundation
References
External links
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