Grant Programs

Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation

Through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, Department of State is helping eligible countries around the globe preserve historic sites and manuscripts, museum collections, and traditional forms of music, dance, and language. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the Fund, established by Congress in 2001 to assist less-developed countries in preserving their cultural heritage. "The Ambassador's Fund demonstrates in measurable ways the U.S. commitment to understanding and preserving the heritage of others," said Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison.

Grants for 2007 were awarded to the following organizations:

• Prasat Han Chey Conservation and Restoration Project, Phase II: Restoration work on Prasat Han Chey temple was initiated in 2006 by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts with support from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Unfortunately, excavations revealed that extensive repair of the temple's foundations were needed. This grant will allow the Ministry to make these repairs and reassemble the temple structure.
  

• Cambodian Object Inventory Project: This grant will assist the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in its efforts to help secure collections of uninventoried archaeological artifacts by entering them in a newly created national inventory database. These artifacts, most of which were illegally excavated, have been seized by law enforcement authorities and are currently held in government storerooms outside Phnom Penh. Including them in the national inventory is a necessary first step towards insuring that they will not again be subject to theft and illicit trafficking.