$5 million grant to strengthen HERITΛGE programs, including $1 million in small grants to organizations in Africa and a $450,000 fellowship program for heritage leaders

The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) joins forces with the Mellon Foundation to strengthen its country-specific programs and fund initiatives that link heritage with socio-economic impact, developing the capacity of local organizations in the African continent and help them preserve their heritage and culture.

“Heritage is much more than monuments and is potentially a very important sustainable resource for education, local pride, and economic and cultural development. It could become a key ally for peacebuilding, reconstruction, development, and social inclusion,” said HERITΛGE Director, Dr. Evanghelos Kyriakidis. “Yet the cardinal importance of the African continent in this field is not fully recognized. We have joined forces with the Mellon Foundation to address this challenge.”

The Mellon Foundation support will enable HERITΛGE to grow its ongoing capacity mapping and development program, identifying the current strengths and needs of the heritage and culture sector, its institutions, and the professional bodies in Ethiopia, where it is currently operating a pilot program partly funded by the UN’s Economic Commission. It will also enable HERITΛGE to launch country-specific programs for Ghana and Rwanda.

The $1 million regranting program will provide small grants to African groups and organizations for heritage projects and to support culturally-focused socio-economic development. An additional $450,000 has been earmarked for a fellowship program aimed at African leading practitioners while HERITΛGE will also provide capacity-building and advisory services to projects and key stakeholders on the continent.

“This bold initiative will create opportunities for expanding and innovating heritage practices across Africa and provide significant resources to directly support local projects, organizations, and leaders on the continent,” said Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place program officer Justin Garrett Moore. “HERITΛGE’s program has the potential to engage and benefit local communities, the broader African diaspora, and the entire world–as African heritage is an essential part of our shared history and world heritage.”

About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the largest supporter of the arts and humanities in the United States. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.