The J. Paul Getty Trust is raising awareness towards cultural heritage and its value to global society by devoting $100 million to help protect the world’s common heritage from threats including political pressures and climate issues.
The initiative, Ancient Worlds Now: A Future for the Past will launch from the summer of 2020 and run for at least ten years to protect ancient sites from economic pressures, urbanization, mass tourism, political tensions, armed conflict and climate change.
Every element of the Getty Trust initiative has already committed to several projects to date, from the Getty Conservation Institute creating a conservation master plan for the ancient mosaic in Paphos, Cyprus, to the Getty Foundation training heritage specialists at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil.
“Cultural heritage embodies a global community united by a common need to make things of beauty and usefulness, and to compose stories and rituals about humanity’s place in the world,” says Getty president and CEO James Cuno. “We will launch with urgency and build momentum for years to come. This work must start now, before more cultural heritage is neglected, damaged, or destroyed. Much is at stake.”
