The Kaplan Responsive Preservation Initiative

 

In situations of armed conflict or sustained political turmoil, there is a critical need to work quickly to protect cultural heritage properties and collections, whether through documentation, preventive preservation measures, or post-conflict stabilization and restoration. When circumstances permit small projects to proceed, cultural heritage professionals working in or near the conflict have often identified such priority interventions but lack resources to implement them.

 

Through CAORC’s Responsive Preservation Initiative, funded through the J.M. Kaplan Fund, CAORC leverages the unique on-the-ground presence of CAORC member centers throughout the MENA region to rapidly assist in locally driven cultural heritage documentation and preservation efforts in war-torn areas. In recent years, the program has supported modest but highly effective projects that have improved the security, safety, and preservation of at-risk sites, collections, or traditions in such places as Gaza, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.