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| From right are: Mr. Donatius Kamamba, Director of the Tanzania Antiquities Division at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism; Mr. Stephen Battle, Program Director, Sub-Saharan Africa for World Monuments Fund; Deputy Chief of Mission Mr. Robert K. Scott and Mr. John Kimaro, Assistant Director at the Tanzania Antiquities Division at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism; during a check presentation ceremony held at the U.S Embassy in Dar es Salaam. (Photo courtesy of the American Embassy) |
Deputy Chief of Mission Robert K. Scott presented a $700,000.00 USD (1,132,000,000.00 billion Tanzanian shillings) grant from the American people to the World Monuments Fund (WMF) under the U.S. Department of State's Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) large grant program. The grant will support a project titled "Conservation of the Ruins of the 9th-Century City of Kilwa Kisiwani," submitted by Mr. Stephen Battle, Program Director, Sub-Saharan Africa for World Monuments Fund.
Tanzania was one of only three nations worldwide selected for the 2011 AFCP large grant program for the preservation of ancient sites of global or national significance, which also included India and Jordan. Upon completion, the site must be accessible to the public and protected by law. The grant is the single largest cultural preservation funding offered by the U.S. to Tanzania, and supports public interest to preserve Kilwa Kisiwani.
In his remarks, Mr. Scott noted: "Some of the greatest world treasures are found right here in this majestic land. While the world claims their global value, they remain uniquely Tanzanian. The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation gives us opportunities to demonstrate U.S. respect for Tanzania's unique cultural and historical treasures.
Tanzania was one of only three nations worldwide selected for the 2011 AFCP large grant program for the preservation of ancient sites of global or national significance, which also included India and Jordan. Upon completion, the site must be accessible to the public and protected by law. The grant is the single largest cultural preservation funding offered by the U.S. to Tanzania, and supports public interest to preserve Kilwa Kisiwani.
In his remarks, Mr. Scott noted: "Some of the greatest world treasures are found right here in this majestic land. While the world claims their global value, they remain uniquely Tanzanian. The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation gives us opportunities to demonstrate U.S. respect for Tanzania's unique cultural and historical treasures.
This grant represents the largest cultural preservation funding support to date sponsored by the American people. This conservation project includes the essential participation by local communities, which will remind the Tanzanian youth of Africa's rich cultural heritage which has blessed so many nations around the world. The United States of America has been enriched by that heritage since the founding of our nation over 200 years ago. I want to thank the Sub-Saharan Africa for World Monuments Fund for its leadership in submitting a winning proposal which will benefit Africans today, as well as future generations."
In his remarks, Mr. Battle said: "This project gives us the opportunity in partnership with the Antiquities Division to ensure preservation of one of East Africa's most important heritage sites, as well as to empower local communities to conserve the cultural heritage in their midst."
Spread across two islands and representing more than 800 years of East African history, the ruins of the ancient Swahili stone towns of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara are rapidly deteriorating due to coastal erosion and unregulated development along Tanzania's Indian coast.
The project involves emergency stabilization and other measures to address the physical and development threats to this World Heritage Site. Its overarching objective is to create a framework for balanced development on the islands, in which the competing demands of tourism, economic development, social change and heritage preservation are balanced for the benefit of all, and ensuring the survival of the monument for future generations.
At Kilwa Kisiwani, AFCP support will protect the most vulnerable structures on the island through urgent conservation work and improved sea defenses. In addition, funding will establish a sustainable management plan for the site and improve living conditions for inhabitants of the island. Kilwa Kisiwani, on the UNESCO World Heritage list along with the nearby island of Songo Mnara, is one of the most important historic sites in East Africa.
In his remarks, Mr. Battle said: "This project gives us the opportunity in partnership with the Antiquities Division to ensure preservation of one of East Africa's most important heritage sites, as well as to empower local communities to conserve the cultural heritage in their midst."
Spread across two islands and representing more than 800 years of East African history, the ruins of the ancient Swahili stone towns of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara are rapidly deteriorating due to coastal erosion and unregulated development along Tanzania's Indian coast.
The project involves emergency stabilization and other measures to address the physical and development threats to this World Heritage Site. Its overarching objective is to create a framework for balanced development on the islands, in which the competing demands of tourism, economic development, social change and heritage preservation are balanced for the benefit of all, and ensuring the survival of the monument for future generations.
At Kilwa Kisiwani, AFCP support will protect the most vulnerable structures on the island through urgent conservation work and improved sea defenses. In addition, funding will establish a sustainable management plan for the site and improve living conditions for inhabitants of the island. Kilwa Kisiwani, on the UNESCO World Heritage list along with the nearby island of Songo Mnara, is one of the most important historic sites in East Africa.
It was founded as a Swahili trading center in the tenth century a.d. and changed hands a number of times between the Swahili Sultans of Kilwa, Portuguese and the Omani rulers of Zanzibar before being abandoned in the nineteenth century. Its ruins - including palaces, mosques, houses, and cemeteries from all periods of the island’s history - dot the landscape. Among the most important surviving ruins are those of the Great Mosque, constructed in the eleventh century and enlarged in the thirteenth century; the palace of Husuni Kubwa from the first half of the fourteenth century; and the gereza, or fort, incorporated into the sixteenth-century Portuguese fort.
The World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization devoted to saving the world’s most treasured places. For over 45 years, working in more than 90 countries, its highly skilled experts have applied proven and effective techniques to preserve important architectural and cultural heritage sites around the globe. Through partnerships with local communities, funders, and governments, WMF inspires an enduring commitment to stewardship for future generations. Headquartered in New York, WMF has offices and affiliates worldwide. www.wmf.org, www.twitter.com/worldmonuments, and www.facebook.com/worldmonuments.
The World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization devoted to saving the world’s most treasured places. For over 45 years, working in more than 90 countries, its highly skilled experts have applied proven and effective techniques to preserve important architectural and cultural heritage sites around the globe. Through partnerships with local communities, funders, and governments, WMF inspires an enduring commitment to stewardship for future generations. Headquartered in New York, WMF has offices and affiliates worldwide. www.wmf.org, www.twitter.com/worldmonuments, and www.facebook.com/worldmonuments.
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