170 THE BUILDING CONSERVATION DIRECTORY 2025 CATHEDRAL COMMUNICATIONS THE WORLD MONUMENTS FUND THE WORLD Monuments Fund (WMF) is one of the few not-forprofits that work internationally to protect historic landmarks, ancient structures and culturally significant sites. It operates with local organisations and communities through offices and partner organisations in Cambodia, France, India, Peru, Portugal, Spain and the UK, with funding from corporate sponsors, government partnerships and private donors. By connecting local populations with historic sites, WMF helps safeguard these places for future generations. In addition to taking a hands-on role in individual conservation and restoration projects, the organisation works through education and advocacy to promote greater appreciation for global heritage while ensuring that communities remain central to its conservation efforts. The organisation has worked at 700 sites across 112 countries, from ancient temples and medieval castles to modernist buildings of the 20th century. Its World Monuments Watch programme identifies and supports the most vulnerable sites, deploying expertise and resources to address pressing threats. There are 25 sites on the watch list for 2025 which are facing a variety of challenges from the effects of climate change, rapid urbanisation and overtourism, to conflict and natural disaster. WMF has already secured $2 million in funding for new projects at these sites. This comes on top of the $120 million it has already invested in conservation projects worldwide, and the additional $300 million it has helped communities secure so far. The following two projects and the photo above give an idea of the range of the organisation’s work. DEBRE TSION, TIGRAY The Gheralta area of Tigray in northern Ethiopia is an arid plateau with mountainous outcrops of sandstone, best known for its early Christian churches which were carved out of the rock. Often located at the top of high cliffs, hundreds of meters above the plateau, many of these churches are only accessible by climbing narrow cliff-edge paths on foot. Inside, the pilgrims were rewarded for their efforts by spectacular interiors richly decorated with frescoes, and the churches are still in use as places of worship and pilgrimage. The earliest are believed to date from the 4th or 5th century, not long after Christian worship was legalised in the Roman empire. Debre Tsion is one of the most important of these churches, carved out of the cliff face with vaulted ceilings carried on six tall columns. The walls and ceilings Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic, which was repaired and restored by WMF in 2010 following its highly successful advocacy programme, Modernism at Risk, which highlighted the challenges facing the conservation of modern architecture. The building is now a thriving cultural and educational centre which is open to the public. (Photo: Mirko Kuzmanovic, Dreamstime.com 363863907)
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