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2012 WORLD
MONUMENTS FUND LAUNCHES “WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH DAY,”
CELEBRATING HERITAGE SITES ACROSS THE GLOBE Events highlight
importance of cultural heritage sites to local communities
World Monuments Fund (WMF) announces the launch of “World
Monuments Watch Day,” comprising a series of celebratory and
educational events to be held at cultural heritage sites
around the world.
A new component of WMF’s biennial World Monuments Watch
program, Watch Day is intended to encourage local engagement
with these treasured places, while also raising global
awareness of their vital importance both to the communities
in which they are located and to our shared human history.
All of the places celebrating Watch Day are on the 2012
World Monuments Watch. Some thirty sites on five continents
will participate in Watch Day events on selected dates
through October 15, 2012.
From Argentina to Poland, and from Madagascar to Japan,
local communities have designed activities that range from
workshops in traditional building techniques, to programs
for schoolchildren, blessings, festivals, concerts, and
more. (See attached list of participating sites.) WMF, which
invited the 2012 Watch sites to take part in the program,
has provided all participants with an activity kit
containing classroom materials, children’s activity pages,
downloadable logos for use on banners or T-shirts, and small
grants to support events and publicity. World Monuments Fund
President Bonnie Burnham states, “Heritage sites are
critically important to the economy, identity, and daily
lives of the local communities in which they are located.
Moreover, as eloquent monuments to human civilization and
culture, they are also of global importance. WMF hopes that
the Watch Day events will highlight the urgent need to
conserve and care for these irreplaceable treasures.”
Watch Day participants will record their activities on
videotape, and WMF will edit the results into a dynamic
short video highlighting the diverse connections between the
monuments and the people who live with them. The video will
be featured at a number of events in December (details and
dates to be announced), and will be available on WMF’s
website (www.wmf.org),
and circulated widely via social media. World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization
devoted to saving the world’s most treasured places.
For 47 years, working in more than 90 countries, WMF’s
highly skilled experts have applied proven and effective
techniques to the preservation of 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.
World Monuments Watch The biennial World Monuments Watch was
launched in 1996 with a goal of calling international
attention to cultural heritage around the globe threatened
by the forces of nature and the impact of social, political,
and economic change. For many historic sites, inclusion on
the Watch provides an opportunity to raise public awareness,
foster local participation in preservation, leverage
resources for conservation, advance innovation and
collaboration, and demonstrate effective solutions.
Most importantly, the Watch tells compelling stories of
human aspiration, imagination, and adaptation by
highlighting our shared heritage and its promise for the
future. Since its inception, the World Monuments Watch has
provided support for more than 600 sites. In the process, it
has become a powerful vehicle for understanding and
addressing the range of challenges confronting the field of
heritage conservation today.
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