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Join on Telegram Rabat – Mehdi Qotbi, President of the National Museum Foundation, has been appointed by the King Mohammed VI as the representative of Morocco in the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Zones (ALIPH).
ALIPH was established in 2017 through a public-private partnership between UNESCO, France, and the Emirates to raise funds for safeguarding.
First announced in December 2016, fundraising was officially launched on March 20 at the Louvre Museum in Paris, aiming to raise USD 100 million by 2019.
Several countries have since answered the call, vowing to protect global cultural heritage threatened by armed conflict through financial and logistical support.
The former Minister of Culture, Amine Sbihi, stressed that Morocco would contribute up to USD 1.5 million. This financial support will be reinforced by the scientific and diplomatic collaboration of several countries.
To date, the fund has raised $75 million of the planned $100 million. France donated $30 million, Saudi Arabia $20 million, the United Arab Emirates $15 million, Kuwait $5 million and Morocco $1.5 million.
While Luxembourg pledged $3 million, and private donor Thomas Kaplan promised $1 million.
Switzerland bestowed $8 million in operational and administrative costs to help establish the fund’s first headquarters in Geneva, while Italy has promised to supply ALIPH with military personnel and conservation experts.
Germany, China and Mexico said they would provide assistance by safekeeping the heritage objects threatened by war in their national museums.
