Deadlines for the 2012 World Monuments Watch nominations has been announced: 15 March 2011.
Launched in 1996 and issued every two years, the World Monuments Watch calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster, continues this tradition of identifying endangered sites, while also encompassing sites with compelling issues or progressive approaches that could inform the field at large.
Watch listing provides an opportunity for sites and their nominators to raise public awareness, foster local participation, advance innovation and collaboration, and demonstrate effective solutions. The announcement of the 2010 Watch was covered by over 1500 news outlets, reaching more than 250 million people worldwide. The Watch nomination process also serves as a vehicle for requesting WMF assistance for select projects. Since the program’s inception, 637 sites have been included on eight cycles of the Watch. Forty percent of the listed sites, representing 85 countries, have received WMF grants totaling $60 million. These WMF monies have leveraged an additional $150 million in assistance from other sources.
As the flagship advocacy program of the World Monuments Fund, the Watch is emblematic of WMF’s commitment to inspiring heritage stewardship, forging partnerships, and advancing conservation. In sponsoring the Watch program, WMF seeks to highlight emerging issues and opportunities in the field, confront urgent challenges, foster community engagement, and build capacities and constituencies for sustaining heritage protection in the long-term.
Eligibility
Heritage sites from all time periods—ancient to modern—are eligible for Watch listing. Sites may include residential, civic, commercial, military or religious architecture; engineering and industrial works; cultural landscapes; archaeological sites; and townscapes and historic city centers. Privately and publicly owned sites may be Watch listed, though WMF cannot provide financial support for projects at privately owned sites.
Nominators
Sites are nominated to the Watch by a private individual or by a representative of a government agency, nonprofit, or other non-governmental organization who is familiar with the site. Sites need not be nominated by their legal owners, though owners will be notified of the nomination. During and after the nomination and selection process, the nominator is the person with whom WMF will correspond directly about the nomination and serves as the official sponsor of the site for the Watch.
WMF Nomination Guidelines: LINK
