Cultural Heritage Center
The Cultural Heritage Center supports the foreign affairs functions of the U.S. Department of State related to the protection and preservation of cultural heritage. It serves as a center of expertise on global cultural heritage protection issues. It administers U.S. responsibilities relating to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The Center also administers the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Iraq Cultural Heritage Initiative, and special cultural heritage programs.
Through the International Cultural Property Protection program, the Department implements the 1970 UNESCO Convention by means of the Cultural Property Implementation Act (the Act). This statute details the process through which the U.S. may enter into agreements with other countries to impose U.S. import restrictions on archaeological or ethnological material when pillage of such materials places a nation’s cultural heritage in jeopardy. These agreements also promote long-term safeguards for protecting cultural heritage; and promote international access to cultural property for educational, scientific, and cultural purposes.
The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation provides direct grant support for the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects, and collections, as well as forms of traditional cultural expression, in eligible countries around the world. Each year, U.S. ambassadors in more than 130 countries are invited to submit project proposals that address important cultural preservation needs.
The Iraq Cultural Heritage Initiative includes the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project, the Future of Babylon project, and other collaborations with the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and U.S. partner institutions, designed to build local capacity for protection and preservation at Iraq’s museums and heritage sites.
Special Projects include training programs for Afghanistan, as well as support for collaborations in heritage preservation with various governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Through the International Cultural Property Protection program, the Department implements the 1970 UNESCO Convention by means of the Cultural Property Implementation Act (the Act). This statute details the process through which the U.S. may enter into agreements with other countries to impose U.S. import restrictions on archaeological or ethnological material when pillage of such materials places a nation’s cultural heritage in jeopardy. These agreements also promote long-term safeguards for protecting cultural heritage; and promote international access to cultural property for educational, scientific, and cultural purposes.
The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation provides direct grant support for the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects, and collections, as well as forms of traditional cultural expression, in eligible countries around the world. Each year, U.S. ambassadors in more than 130 countries are invited to submit project proposals that address important cultural preservation needs.
The Iraq Cultural Heritage Initiative includes the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project, the Future of Babylon project, and other collaborations with the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and U.S. partner institutions, designed to build local capacity for protection and preservation at Iraq’s museums and heritage sites.
Special Projects include training programs for Afghanistan, as well as support for collaborations in heritage preservation with various governmental and non-governmental organizations.