May 28: The British Council's Cultural Protection Fund has announced 22 new projects across 10 countries, with a total funding of over £2 million. These projects aim to protect cultural heritage at risk from the effects of conflict and climate change.

In addition to ongoing efforts in the Middle East and North and East Africa, the fund will be working in Pakistan and Nepal for the first time as part of a South Asia pilot programme.

The allocated funding will support cultural heritage protection in Syria, Iraq, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Uganda, Tanzania, and now Pakistan and Nepal.

The Cultural Protection Fund, led by the British Council in partnership with the UK Department of Culture, Media, and Sport, is the UK's main initiative for international cultural heritage protection.

The fund collaborates with organizations and communities across 17 countries to protect both tangible heritage—such as buildings and archaeological sites—and intangible heritage, including music, traditional crafts, and languages.

The new projects announced by Cultural Protection Fund for Nepal emphasize on preserving various aspects of cultural heritage. The projects declared for Nepal include Preservation of Indigenous Food Heritage in Nepal – worth £ 50,000 and Safeguarding the Kusunda (The Ban Rajas) Language and Culture for Future Generations- worth £45,953.

Other projects are Towards Protecting the Cultural Heritage in the High Himalayas of the Shey Phoksundo National Park of Dolpo – worth £36,908 and Preservation and revival of Maithil women’s wall painting and sculpting arts- worth £ 50,000.

National Indigenous Women’s Federation will deliver preservation of Indigenous Food Heritage in Nepal which focuses on diverse culinary practices in the highland regions of Nepal.

Through courses for students at local secondary schools and the development of an online learning programme, Archive Nepal and partners hope to increase the speakership of this language and will promote the language further through the production of dual language Nepali and Kusunda books for children.

In the same vein, Sampada Samrakshyan Samaj Nepal (ICOMOS Nepal) will work with local government and members of the community to document and improve capacity to care for built heritage that remains an important part of socio-cultural life for the Dolpo community.

Similarly, preservation and revival of Maithil women’s wall painting and sculpting arts project will focus on Maithil women’s paintings and mud art heritage.