Public Affairs Section

Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation Program

The Fund was established in 2001 to help less developed countries preserve their cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures.

In 2002 the U.S. Department of State funded 61 projects through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation including the restoration project at the 15th-century Seit Jemmalatdin Mosque in Annau, which was destroyed by the 1948 earthquake. In 2003 a project to preserve Parthian fresco wall paintings at the historical site of Nisa and conservation of the historical monument of XI century Mausoleum-Shrine of Abu Sakhyt Abul Khair (1049). In 2004 the U.S. Department of State funded the National Carpet Museum of Turkmenistan project on Preservation of a Unique Collection of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Turkmen Carpets.

According to the 2009 proposal guidelines, proposals may include preservation projects directed at:

1. A cultural site or sites. This might include (but is not limited to):
   • Preservation of an archaeological or historical site, sacred place or monument;
   • An archaeological survey as a component of a preservation plan;
   • Preservation management planning for a site or sites in a region, and
   • Documentation of a site or sites in a region for preservation purposes 
2. An object or collection of objects from a site, a museum or similar institution. This might include (but is not limited to):
   • Conservation of an object or collection of objects;
   • Inventory of a collection of objects for conservation purposes;
   • Creating suitable space and conditions for a collection of objects, and
   • Specialized training in the care and preservation of collections
3. Forms of traditional cultural expression: This might include (but is not limited to):
   • Recording traditional music or dance forms;
   • Compiling a dictionary of an endangered language;
   • Recording oral history or traditional poetry, and
   • Support for training in the preservation of traditional arts or crafts that are threatened by extinction

Applications should meet the following criteria:

• Detailed description of the project and participants, including the time frame for completion
• Indication of the importance of the cultural or sacred site (or sites), object (or collection), or form of expression. All should have a close association with the history and cultural development of the host country and demonstrate need for preservation or conservation.
• Indication of the urgency of the project.
• The impact of the U.S. contribution to the preservation project
• Detailed budget
• Indicate other funding sources, if any. Strong encouragement is given to local non-U.S. government source cost-sharing (including in-kind) from sources such as governments, international organizations, and the private sector.

NOTA BENE: This program is to support ONLY the preservation of cultural heritage. Funds cannot be used to support the purchase of privately owned, residential or commercial property or collections.

Eligible countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Dem. Rep. Of The), Congo (Republic Of), Cote D'Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Samoa (Western), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Information on cultural preservation projects that have been funded through this program from countries around the world: http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/afcp/

Point of contact:
Maya Meredova, Cultural Affairs Assistant
U.S. Embassy Ashgabat,
Public Affairs Section,
Main Entrance, 4th Floor,
Ak Altyn Hotel, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Tel: 36 33 31, 36 13 65; Fax: 36 46 93

- Related information -

Fact Sheet: Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation Program (pdf)