In a testament to the UK’s continued commitment to safeguarding endangered heritage and the communities who protect it, the Cultural Protection Fund has been extended to 2029.
‘When culture is protected and shared, all of our lives become richer. The Cultural Protection Fund helps safeguard some of humanity’s most vulnerable treasures and practices and I’m proud that the UK can support projects across the world through partnerships and by sharing expertise,’ said Ian Murray, UK Arts Minister.
‘Once languages, traditions, sites and objects are lost, there’s no way to bring them back. If we only get one opportunity to preserve these treasures - it’s vital we do it now.’
Over the next three years, £8.95 million will be invested by this flagship programme led by the British Council, in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
This funding extension includes providing support to community-centred efforts to address global challenges through heritage endangered by climate change, conflict, and global instability.
To date, CPF has awarded over £56 million in 160 projects in 20 countries enabling organisations and communities to protect, document, and conserve culturally significant sites, objects, and traditions. In 2024–25 alone, projects funded by CPF created 480 paid roles, worked with 127 partners, protected 58 monuments and conserved over 10,000 objects.
CPF has also supported urgent interventions to heritage and communities affected by severe crises, including in Gaza and Sudan.
This news builds on a ten-year successful model of enhancing local knowledge and leadership with the strength of international collaboration and partnerships.
Additionally, CPF will assume management of Culture in Crisis, a global programme founded and developed by the Victoria and Albert Museum over the past decade. Under CPF, the programme will continue to:
- provide expert insights, targeted training, and sector-leading events for cultural heritage professionals globally.
- maintain the Culture in Crisis Portal, the world’s largest database of heritage preservation activities, which brings together over 1200 projects connecting over 600 organisations, funders and practitioners, with over 35,000 users from 182 countries each year.
A new funding call for projects and a Culture in Crisis events programme will be announced this spring.
Additionally as June 2026 will mark a decade since CPF was first launched, there will be a series of events, publications and other engagement activities celebrating how CPF has done more than preserve the past.
‘Cultural heritage connects communities to their identity and history, but faces major threats from conflict and climate change. Thanks to this funding extension, we can continue our work with communities and experts to ensure that tangible and intangible heritage is a living part of how we understand ourselves,’ said Ruth Mackenzie, Director of Arts at the British Council.
‘As the Cultural Protection Fund marks its tenth anniversary, this renewal celebrates a decade of impact while committing to protect heritage for future generations.’
