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ninch-announce: Getty Trust--World Bank Partnership

ninch-announce: Getty Trust--World Bank Partnership

Getty Trust--World Bank Partnership

David Green (david@ninch.org)
Tue, 9 Dec 1997 18:00:33 -0500 

Message-Id: <v0213052ab0b379853f45@[192.100.21.23]>
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 18:00:33 -0500
To: ninch-announce@cni.org
From: david@ninch.org (David Green)
Subject: Getty Trust--World Bank Partnership 


NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
December 9, 1997


An intriguing and powerful alliance was recently announced by the Getty
Trust and the World Bank to work together to "support access to,
conservation of, and education about cultural heritage." It is perhaps
especially interesting in the link seen between the protection and
promotion of cultural heritage and the building of sustainable economic
development. 

This relationship had been initiated earlier in specific projects and
new projects will be announced.  Stay tuned via the Getty Information
Institute's impressively re-designed Website <www.gii.getty.edu> as well
as this space. 

David Green

=============================================================================
November 4, 1997
Contact:
Sylvia Sukop, J. Paul Getty Trust
(310) 440-6474
David Theis, World Bank
(202) 473-1955

                         WORLD BANK AND GETTY TRUST
                   PARTNER TO SUSTAIN CULTURAL HERITAGE
                Organizations Sign Operational Partnership
                       Agreement at the Getty Center


Los Angeles, Calif./Washington, D.C.  -- The World Bank and the 
J. Paul Getty Trust today agreed to an operational partnership to
sustain cultural heritage in developing countries--to support access to,
conservation of, and education about cultural heritage. 

The agreement was co-signed November 4, 1997 at the Getty Center in Los
Angeles by James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and Harold
M. Williams, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust.  It
reflects a growing focus by the Bank in the cultural field and
increasing efforts with a number of institutions to integrate cultural
heritage as a force in promoting sustainable development; for the Getty,
it continues a longstanding commitment to forging broad alliances on a
global scale--in conservation, education, scholarship, information
technology, and museology. 

"In every country I have visited," said World Bank President Wolfensohn,
"I have seen the importance of a sense of history and a link to the
past.  For real development to occur, it should be grounded in the
culture of the people--drawing strength from their history.  I am proud
that the Bank and the Getty can help people preserve and pass on their
heritage."

"We have always worked in close collaboration with other organizations
around the world," said Getty Trust President Williams.  "Now, by
combining the experience and resources of our two organizations, the
Getty-World Bank partnership will generate needed attention and support
for some of the most important cultural heritage sites that are at
risk."

The Bank and the Getty Trust will strengthen their activities related to
cultural heritage by working together to:

*   Identify specific operations and projects where the Bank and the
Getty can collaborate to protect and sustain cultural heritage--the
Getty, for example, providing expertise to Bank-assisted projects;

*   Jointly undertake pilot projects in cultural heritage and develop a
research and evaluation agenda to assess the performance of these
projects;

*   Develop the Bank's knowledge of current international standards of
conservation and documentation practices and identify potential
applications of Getty expertise;

*   Mobilize financial and institutional resources for these objectives.

In addition to these actions, the World Bank and Getty Trust will engage
in staff exchanges to increase awareness of the methods, resources,
and operational practices of the partner organization.

The relationship between the World Bank and the Getty Trust is not
entirely new.  Prior to 1997, the organizations had already engaged in
two cultural heritage projects, one in Djenne, Mali, and another in St. 
Petersburg, Russia.  The Getty Conservation Institute assisted in the
design of the preservation strategy and project implementation for a new
$55.5 million urban development project in Mali.  Approved by the Bank's
board in December, 1996, the project includes a $12.1 million component
to preserve cultural sites in the towns of Djenne and Timbuktu.  It
provides infrastructure, technical assistance, and training to 10 local
governments, and preservation of historic sites covering a five-year
investment program. 

Other initiatives now underway, such as the Buenos Aires Exhibition and
Project Partnership, and an ambitious, five-country Mundo Maya project,
led to today's agreement on a formal partnership between the Bank and
the Getty with a commitment to cultural heritage and sustainable
development and a clear vision of the vital role both play for present
and future generations.

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