Ten years of the Cultural Protection Fund, yet the need is greater than ever

This article was first published by the British Council. Written by Stephanie Grant – Director Cultural Protection Fund, British Council

After ten years of success, the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund (CPF) has been extended to 2029.  Here Stephanie Grant explains the work of the Fund and why it is important to everyone around the world.

The Cultural Protection Fund’s three-year extension to 2029 marks a new chapter for the fund. It’s brilliant news and means that thousands more people and communities worldwide will benefit from UK support to protect valuable cultural heritage that could otherwise be destroyed, lost and forgotten. But as the world faces a convergence of humanitarian emergencies, with hundreds of millions of people living without access to food and healthcare, is it important to protect cultural heritage? And given the consistently gloomy reports about the fragile state of the UK’s and other economies, is this a good time to invest in heritage?

My answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes.