The 2012 World Monuments Watch was announced at a press conference held at the WMF headquarters in the Empire State Building, New York City, on October 5th, 2011. Five sites from Africa are included on the 2012 Watch, from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Madagascar and Zimbabawe.
At a press conference held on October 5, 2011, at World Monuments Fund’s headquarters in the Empire State Building, New York City, WMF President Bonnie Burnham announced the 2012 World Monuments Watch. Since 1996, the biennial Watch has drawn international attention to cultural-heritage sites in need of assistance, helping to save some of the world’s most treasured places. The 2012 Watch includes 67 sites, representing 41 countries and territories - including a 5 sites from Sub-sahara Africa.
The five sites, from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Madagascar and Zimbabwe, is the largest number from the sub-Sahara
region ever included on the Watch.
Ms. Burnham states, “the World Monuments Watch is a call to action on behalf of endangered cultural-heritage sites across the globe. And while these sites are historic, they are also very much of the present – integral parts of the lives of people who come into contact with them every day. Indeed, the Watch reminds us of our collective role as stewards of the earth and its human heritage”.
Stephen Battle, Program Director for Sub-Sahara Africa, adds: “the richness and diversity of African built heritage is still largely unknown outside of Africa. Heritage plays a vital role in defining identity and building stable and prosperous societies. If the continent’s historical places are allowed to disappear in the rush to develop, we will all be poorer. The 2012 Watch draws attention to the high artistic achievement of Africa’s cultural heritage, its potential to act as a catalyst for development, and the urgent need to preserve it.”
Five sites from sub-Sahara Africa are included on the 2012 Watch:
Tiébélé Royal Compound, Burkina Faso
The Royal Compound at Tiébélé, in Burkina Faso, is the official residence of the King of Tiébélé and his court, and continues to play a central role in the civic and spiritual lives of the Kassena people. First constructed in the sixteenth century, the Compound is comprised of over 40 households, made of earth and decorated with elaborate geometric patterns and relief sculptures. It is one of the finest examples of decorated earthen architecture in West Africa. Located at the edge of Sahel region, Tiébélé is vulnerable to changing weather patterns caused by climate change. In 2007,
severe flooding caused by heavy rain led to the collapse of several households in the compound. There is an urgent need to improve drainage around the site to cope with erratic weather patterns. At the same time, increased tourism is creating new challenges for balancing protection and the traditions of its people with opportunities for development.
http://www.wmf.org/project/cour-royale-de-tiébélé
Akaba Idena Historic Gateway, Benin
The Akaba Idena is the monumental gateway to the historic Yoruba city-state of Kétou, in modern-day Benin. Founded in the fourteenth century, the city was first fortified at the end of the eighteenth century when massive earth ramparts surrounded by a moat were constructed, with a single monumental entrance, the Akaba Idena. Once the dominant political and military power in the region, the Yoruba had a rich and sophisticated artistic tradition, and built large fortified city-states at places such as Ife, Kano, and modern-day Benin City in Nigeria. Today, little remains of these traditional cities. Their fortifications and elaborate earthen architecture has been swept away by rapid urbanisation. The Akaba Idena, with its decorated columns and relief sculptures, is one of few remaining historic gateways in West Africa. Poorly protected, the site suffers from flooding and neglect, and there is an urgent need to improve stewardship at the site, invest in drainage, and raise awareness of its historic significance.
http://www.wmf.org/project/akaba-idéna
Ashanti Shrines, Ghana
Once one of the most powerful and wealthiest states in Africa, the Ashanti kingdom played a pivotal role in a turbulent period of the continent’s history, and was the source of great artistic and cultural achievement. The Ashanti Shrines are the last remnants of this once extensive and sophisticated building tradition. Originating in traditions dating back to at least the eighteenth century, the 10 remaining Ashanti Shrines are made of earth and thatch and decorated with intricate patterns in relief. Located far from modern centres of settlement, and sidelined in the rush to build a modern nation-state, the Ashanti Shrines have suffered from neglect and are now severely threatened. There is an urgent need to preserve the sites and make them relevant again at a local level, through adaptation to modern tourism and improved stewardship.
http://www.wmf.org/project/asante-traditional-buildings
Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, Madagascar
One of the most significant historic places in Madagascar, the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga was once the seat of secular and spiritual authority in the country, and is still considered the embodiment of Malagasy cultural identity. Throughout its history it has functioned as a fortress, palace, royal burial ground, center of religious observance and seat of justice. The site was first occupied in the fifteenth century, and the stone fortifications and palace were built in the nineteenth century. A sacred forest forms an integral part of the site, containing many rare endemic species of rainforest plants. Once well-maintained and a major tourist attraction, the political and economic turmoil that has convulsed Madagascar in recent years has led to a collapse in revenue. Ambohimanga is now threatened by decay and encroachment into the sacred forest. There is an urgent need to raise local and international awareness of its plight, and invest in urgent repairs and improved stewardship.
http://www.wmf.org/project/royal-hill-ambohimanga
Nalatale Ruins, Zimbabwe
The last capital of the Torwa dynasty, which arose out of the collapse of Great Zimbabwe in the seventeenth century, Nalatale is one of the most important historic places in present-day Zimbabwe. Part of the Great Zimbabwe building tradition, which pushed the art of dry-stone walling to new heights creating elaborate forms and patterns in stone, it is one of few surviving examples of this style of African architecture. Economic difficulties in the country together with a reduction in visitor numbers, has meant that resources allocated to maintenance and protection have been drastically reduced. There is now serious physical degradation at the site, with subsidence of foundations and collapse of sections of dry-stone walling. Urgent physical intervention is required to stabilise the site and improve stewardship.
http://www.wmf.org/project/nalatale-ruins
World Monuments Watch
Launched in 1996 and issued every two years, the World Monuments Watch calls international attention to threatened cultural-heritage sites around the world. Watch listing provides an opportunity for sites and their nominators to raise public awareness, foster local participation, advance innovation and collaboration, and demonstrate effective solutions. The process also serves as a vehicle for requesting WMF assistance for select projects. The list is assembled by an international panel of experts in archaeology, architecture, art history, and preservation. For many historic sites, inclusion on the Watch is the best, and sometimes the only, hope for survival.
Since the program’s inception, 688 sites in 132 countries and territories have been included on the nine Watch cycles. The international attention given to Watch sites provides a vital tool with which local entities may leverage funding from a variety of sources, including municipal, regional, and national governments; foundations; corporate sponsors; international aid organizations; and private donors. While WMF has contributed to date $2.7 million to projects at 2010 Watch sites, nearly $27 million has been allocated to the 2010 group by other entities.
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization devoted to saving the world’s treasured places. For over 45 years, working in more than 90 countries, its highly skilled experts have applied proven and effective techniques to the preservation of important architectural and cultural-heritage sites around the globe. Through partnerships with local communities, funders, and governments, WMF seeks to inspire an enduring commitment to stewardship for future generations. Headquartered in New York City, WMF has offices and affiliates worldwide.
www.wmf.org, www.twitter.com/worldmonuments, and www.facebook.com/worldmonuments.
For information on World Monuments Fund: Ben Haley, World Monuments Fund,
+1-646-424-9582, bhaley@wmf.org
All images taken from http://www.wmf.org
