Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy, Skopje, Macedonia
Announcement
The U.S. Embassy in Skopje and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State are pleased to announce the 2015 call for proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
The Fund was established to help countries preserve their cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. Since its inception in 2001, the Fund has helped preserve cultural sites, practices, and objects that are historically or culturally significant in Macedonia and around the world. The deadline for submitting applications is December 10, 2014.
Proposals may be submitted in support of the following three types of projects:
A. CULTURAL SITES includes (but is not limited to) historic buildings and archaeological sites. Examples are restoration of an ancient or historic building, preservation of an archaeological site, or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.
B. CULTURAL OBJECTS AND COLLECTIONS from a museum, site or similar institution and includes archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, and general museum conservation needs. Examples are conservation treatment for an object or collection of objects; needs assessment of a collection’s condition and strategies for improving it; inventory of a collection for conservation and protection purposes; the creation of safe environments for storage or display of collections; or specialized training in the care and preservation of collections.
Top priority is given to project activities that are appropriate and in keeping with international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage. An appropriate preservation activity is one that protects the values of the site, object or collection, or form of traditional cultural expressions as they are understood by stakeholders. Stake holders may include national, regional, or local cultural authorities, the local community, and others with vested interests in the site and the outcome of a project. Note that only Macedonian entities, such as non-governmental organizations, museums, ministry of culture, or similar institutions and organizations are eligible to apply for the Fund.
The Fund can NOT be used to support the following:
(1) preservation or purchase of privately or commercially owned cultural objects, collections, or real property, including those whose transfer from private or commercial to public ownership is envisioned, planned, or in process but not complete at the time of proposal submission;
(2) preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.);
(3) Preservation of hominid or human remains;
(4) Preservation of news media (newspaper, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.);
(5) Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);
(6) Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes;
(7) Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use;
(8) Archaeological excavations or surveys for research purposes;
(9) Historical research, except in cases where historical research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
(10) Acquisition or creation of new collections for new or existing museums;
(11) Construction of new buildings or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example);
(12) Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;
(13) Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances;
(14) Creation of replicas or re-creation of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist;
(15) Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another;
(16) Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason;
(17) Digitalization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger clearly defined conservation effort;
(18) Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies;
(19) Cash reserves, endowments or revolving funds; funds must be expended within the grant period (up to five years) and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund;
(20) Costs of fund-raising campaigns;
(21) Operating expenses, i.e. expenses incurred during the day-to-day operational activities of an organization, such as office rent, utilities, license fees, and other costs for administrative time, services, or materials not directly related to performing project work;
(22) Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous fees;
(23) Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award;
(24) International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis;
(25) Travel or study for professional development;
(26) Individual project costing less than US$10,000; or
(27) Independent U.S. projects overseas.
Suggested guidelines for proposal preparation and information to be provided are below. Each project proposal must be in English and should be emailed to TaneskaB@state.gov
