11 April. ICCROM is pleased to announce that the First Lady of Azerbaijan has made a generous contribution of € 50,000 to the EPA Fund through the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, of which she is the President. The amount raised for the fund has now reached 2,484,204 €.

ICCROM and the Ecole du Patrimoine Africain (EPA) express theirs deepest gratitude to H.E. Mrs Merhiban Aliyeva and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for this contribution that demonstrates their commitment to ensure the sustainable conservation of African Cultural Heritage.

EPA Fund was established and managed by ICCROM in 2001 to use the income from investments of the Fund to support, the operating costs of EPA.

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation is thus the third donor to respond to the resolution which was adopted unanimously during the XXVI General Assembly of ICCROM in November 2009, after the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg and the Annenberg Foundation. This resolution launches a new fundraising campaign:

"15. Agenda Item 23 – Statements of Delegates and Observers

15.1 The General Assembly unanimously approved the resolution made by the African delegations as follows:

1- About EPA
…Over the past 10 years, EPA has become an important centre for expertise and training in the conservation and promotion of African heritage. The financial report presented by the Council indicates that the interest generated by the Fund is still not sufficient to cover the totality of EPA’s needs. As EPA is constantly solicited for new activities, the delegates of the African countries present at this XXVI General Assembly of ICCROM believe it is important to plan for an increase of 700,000 € to the EPA Fund, thereby reaching a total sum of 3,000,000 €.
On the occasion of ICCROM’s 50th Anniversary, the African delegations would like to ask the General Assembly to authorize ICCROM’s Director-General to launch this new fundraising campaign and extend a particular invitation to the African countries to contribute to the EPA Fund.…"

updated on: 12 April, 2012