UAE announces landmark initiative to support world heritage rehabilitation projects in Africa

On the 40th Africa Day last Thursday, the UAE announced a fund to support world heritage protection and document conservation across the continent.

Launched in collaboration with the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (Aliph) and the African World Heritage Fund, the initiative aims to lend its support to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage of outstanding universal value across Africa.

Through the Ministry of Culture and Youth, the UAE will start getting counted among the African World Heritage Fund’s platinum partners, working to empower local communities and effectively address the underrepresentation of African sites on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

The African World Heritage Fund was established in 2006 by the African Union and the UN’s culture agency.

Aliph, co-founded by the UAE with France in 2017, will use the funds to restore and revitalise Ethiopia’s Yemrehana Krestos Church, Sudan’s Dongola Mosque, and the DRC’s National Cultural Heritage Inventory.

The fund builds on Emirates’ commitments to Africa

The UAE made the announcement on the landmark initiative at an event held Thursday at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris, France, to celebrate the annual Africa Day.

Heritage enhances tolerance, diversity, coexistence, and peace in societies, said Salem Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture and Youth.

He highlighted the need to “make these projects sustainable and contribute to capacity development and to create job opportunities for the local community and to involve them in all of these projects.”

With 2023 marking the ‘Year of Sustainability’ in the UAE and the country preparing to host the upcoming COP28 climate summit in November, Al Qassimi emphasised the importance of recognising the impact of climate change on tangible as well as intangible heritage of Africa.

He even highlighted the long-standing ties shared between the UAE and Africa. Over the years, the Emirates introduced numerous programmes and initiatives in Africa to promote education, sustainable development, and cultural exchange across the continent.