The U.S. Embassy in Quito and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) are pleased to announce the call for proposals for the 2024 Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).
This year, priority will be given to cultural heritage proposals with a focus on security in the country and the region.
The fund was created to support other countries in preserving their cultural heritage and demonstrating the United States’ respect for other cultures, prosperity, and stability around the world.
Areas
Through the AFCP Program, the Department of State supports projects to preserve the cultural heritage of Ecuador in the following three areas:
Cultural Sites: Conservation of ancient or historic buildings, preservation of archaeological sites, or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.
Cultural Property and Collections: Conservation treatment of an asset or collection of assets of a museum, site or similar institution including, but not limited to, archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and general museum conservation needs; needs assessment of a collection with respect to its condition and strategies to improve its conservation status; inventory of a collection for conservation and protection purposes; creating secure environments for the storage or display of collections; or specialized training for the care and preservation of collections.
Forms of Cultural and Traditional Expressions: Documentation and audiovisual recording of traditional music, indigenous languages and dance forms for their wide dissemination as means of teaching and subsequent conservation, or support for training in the preservation of traditional arts or crafts in danger of extinction.
Funding Information
Funding will range from $10,000 and $ 500,000.
Eligibility Criteria
Non-commercial institutions, such as NGOs, museums, Ministry of Culture, or similar institutions and organizations, including those based in the United States. Organizations must be registered and active on SAM.gov, and have the necessary experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.
Additionally, for this year, priority will be given to projects presented that promote security in the country and the region, such as projects to improve security for museums or archaeological sites, or to protect collections, or the involvement of local communities in the protection of cultural heritage, among others. and that meet one or more of the following criteria:
Direct support for US bilateral treaties or agreements.
Direct support to the objectives of the United States Embassy in Ecuador.
Disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in seismically active and other disaster-prone areas and/or recovery of cultural heritage after a disaster.
Complement other programs of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) ECA or public diplomacy.
Special Note Regarding Sites and Property that have a Religious Connection: The Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution allows the government to include religious properties and sites within a support program under certain conditions. For example, the cultural preservation of an asset/site with a religious connection (including a place of worship) may be subsidized if its greatest importance is based on architectural, artistic, historical or cultural (non-religious) criteria.
Ineligible
Preservation or purchase of cultural objects, collections or real estate of private or commercial property, including those whose transfer to the public domain is planned, planned or in process, but which has not been completed at the time of submitting the proposal.
Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened animal and plant species, fossils, etc.)
Preservation of hominid or human remains.
Preservation of the media (newspapers, newscasts, radio and television programs, etc.)
Preservation of published materials that are available elsewhere (books, magazines, etc.)
