H E Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development and Audrey Azoulay, Unesco Director-General, with other officials during the signing ceremony to supplement the finance of “Heritage Emergency Fund” with $2m.
DOHA: Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Unesco signed an agreement to supplement the finance of “Heritage Emergency Fund” with $2m.
The signing ceremony was attended by H E Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development and Audrey Azoulay, Unesco Director-General, for a grant of $2m, which represents the second installment to complete the funding of the “Heritage Emergency Fund”.
On the sidelines of a signing ceremony Audrey Azoulay, Unesco Director-General, said: “We may not be able to prevent an emergency, but we must be prepared to respond in order to assess, secure and safeguard heritage”. She added: “This is critical to communities and helps pave the way for recovery and reconciliation.”
This support follows on the heels of an earlier QFFD contribution of an equal amount and fulfills a pledge Qatar made at the 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee that took place in Doha in June 2014.
In this session, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister, pledged US $ 10 million to support and strengthen Unesco’s ability to preserve World Heritage sites in areas that may be vulnerable to natural disasters or may be affected by conflict and war.
Khalifa Bin Jassim Al Kuwari said that QFFD contribution to the establishment of the “Heritage Emergency Fund” and the continued funding of this fund reaffirms Qatar’s commitment to protecting and preserving the world heritage. We hope that our donation will act as a catalyst that will trigger multiple donors’ engagement in safeguarding heritage. The Heritage Emergency Fund will assist in supporting capacity-building and training of professionals in response activities in conflict and emergency situations.
In this context, the QFFD signed an MoU with Unesco on December 8, 2015 to donate US$ 2m for the establishment and funding of the Heritage Emergency Fund. This donation represents the first installment to fund projects to protect cultural and natural heritage sites in emergency situations. During 2016-2017, other donors joined the initiative, such as Norway, the Netherlands, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Estonia, the Slovak Republic, the Principality of Andorra, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and individual donors. The Heritage Emergency Fund has implemented a large number of projects in the area of emergency preparedness and response; heritage rehabilitation; outreach and awareness in countries as diverse as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Myanmar, Ecuador, Haiti and others.
