World Monuments Fund strengthens its presence to support heritage in Arab countries

Arab News

06-03-2025

RIYADH: The World Monuments Fund, which celebrates its sixth decade this year, has strengthened its official presence in Arab countries, organizing an exploratory tour in several countries including Saudi Arabia.
The organization has made significant contributions to the preservation of tangible heritage and has carried out 68 projects in 13 Arab countries since the mid-1990s.
At the end of last month, WMF organized an exploratory tour in several countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The delegation, composed of 45 individuals, was led by the fund's president and CEO, Benedicte de Montlaur, with the attendance of Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, board member of the fund, and Dr. Elie Flouty, the fund's representative in the Arab countries, along with other members of the organization.
This tour marked the beginning of a stronger official presence of the WMF in the Arab region, coinciding with increasing official and unofficial Arab interest in heritage issues, preservation, and integrating this into economic, tourism and social development plans. This aligns with the WMF's 60th anniversary celebration.
Dr. Elie Flouty said: 'We can now say that the WMF has an official presence in the region, which is rich in world heritage sites. We will work with all Arab governmental and non-governmental entities and international institutions to safeguard our ancient Arab heritage. WMF is currently active in 14 sites across various Arab countries and collaborates with both governments and local communities to implement these projects, providing funding and expertise.'
Among the most significant initiatives of the WMF is the World Monuments Watch, a list of endangered sites issued every two years, which includes 25 historic places.
For the 2025 list, three sites from the Arab region were included — the Jewish heritage in Debdou in Morocco, the historic urban fabric of Gaza, and the water reservoirs (majels) in the Old City of Tunis.
The delegation's tour in the Gulf region included several stops, starting in Kuwait where it visited the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and Dr. Mohamed Al-Rumaihi discussed the history of Kuwait and its major economic and social milestones. The delegation visited the Soof Center for Spinning and the Grand Mosque, designed by architect Mohamed Saleh Makiya.
In Saudi Arabia, it visited the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, explored the Old City of Jeddah, and toured the home of architect Sami Angawi, which reflects the architecture of Hijaz.
They also visited Madinah and its major religious landmarks and concluded their visit to AlUla, a site rich in human heritage, natural and cultural landmarks.
In Bahrain, the delegation visited the city of Muharraq and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Pearling Path, the Bahrain National Museum, and several houses within the Sheikh Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa Center for Culture and Research. They also visited Bahrain Fort and its museum, the Dilmun Burial Mounds listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
WMF is the world's leading non-governmental organization for heritage preservation. Headquartered in New York, the fund has offices in Peru, London, Paris, Spain, Portugal, India and China, with projects in 112 countries. It has worked on more than 700 heritage sites. WMF's mission is to save the most threatened landmarks, whether from war or climate change.