Deadline: 20-Dec-22
The U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar with the Cultural Heritage Center (“the Center”) in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce the start of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2023 Grants Program.
Objectives
- The Department of State established the AFCP in 2001 at the request of Congress.
- At the time, the Senate noted that the preservation of cultural heritage “offers an opportunity to show a different American face to other countries, one that is non-commercial, non-political, and non-military.”
- The projects recommended for funding advance U.S. foreign policy goals and show respect for other cultures.
- Cultural preservation is effective public diplomacy that resonates deeply with opinion leaders and local communities, even in countries where ties may be otherwise limited.
- AFCP projects help to preserve cultural heritage, strengthen civil society, encourage good governance, and promote political and economic stability around the world. In Mongolia, AFCP has given 1.6 million USD in implementing 21 projects over the years.
- These projects include restoration of Yadam Temple of the Choijin Lama Temple Museum in Ulaanbaatar, Barcoding Inventory Project within the National Museum of Mongolia, and Preservation of Deer Stones in Khanui Valley.
Priorities
- Some of the most impactful AFCP projects have been designed as part of a greater PD programming arc promoting specific U.S. policy goals and host-country or community objectives. Accordingly, in FY 2023, ECA will give preference to projects that do one or more of the following:
- Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations
- Directly support U.S. policies, strategies and objectives in a country as stated in the Integrated Country Strategy or other U.S. government planning documents
- Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas or post-disaster cultural heritage recovery
- Partner, connect with, or feed into other public diplomacy programs.
Areas
- The AFCP Grants Program supports the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression, such as indigenous languages and crafts. Appropriate project activities may include:
- Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts)
- Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to an object or site)
- Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site)
- Documentation (recording in analog or digital format the condition and salient features of an object, site, or tradition)
- Inventory (listing of objects, sites, or traditions by location, feature, age, or other unifying characteristic or state)
- Preventive Conservation (addressing conditions that threaten or damage a site, object, collection, or tradition)
- Restoration (replacing missing elements to recreate the original appearance of an object or site, usually appropriate only with fine arts, decorative arts, and historic buildings)
- Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or site).
Funding Information
- Total Amount, Pending Availability of Funds: $500,000
- Award Amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000
- Number of Awards Anticipated in Mongolia: 1-3 awards (dependent on amounts)
- Length of Performance Period: up to five years
Eligible Projects Applicants
- The AFCP defines eligible project applicants as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities that can demonstrate they have the requisite capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.
- Eligible implementers may include non-governmental organizations, museums, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations, including U.S.-based organizations subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, that are registered and active in www.SAM.gov and able to demonstrate that they have the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.
- The U.S. Embassy vets applicants for eligibility, suitability, and reputable performance in cultural preservation or similar activities.
- AFCP does not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or to embassies or past award recipients that have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous AFCP awards.
For more information, visit https://mn.usembassy.gov/education-culture/cultural-programs/afcp/