About the project

Abandoned and ruined churches, monasteries, dwelling caves from the Middle Ages, graveyards or prehistoric cult sites…Throughout remote areas in the South Caucasus one can find a large number of neglected cultural assets, that are in deep need of care and attention. Under the slogan “Crossing borders to save, preserve and care” this issue is currently addressed by the SOS Culture project which was launched in January 2012 by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC). 

With an overall duration of 24 months, the SOS Culture project is funded by the European Union within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Culture Program and is implemented by FPWC in cooperation with the dvv international – Georgia Country office and Research on Armenian Architecture Foundation. The overall EU contribution to SOS Culture project is 492,754 Euro.

The overall objective of the project is to register and preserve endangered cultural assets in the remote border regions of Armenia and Georgia with the involvement of local citizenry. Involvement of local communities will in its turn promote economic, social and cultural development in the areas, covered by the project. 

The approach of the SOS Culture project is rooted in the idea that well preserved and explored historic sites have a tremendous positive influence on the creation of an environment, which nurtures sustainable economic, social and human development in remote and impoverished regions, making those regions attractive for tourists. 

SOS Culture relies on the active involvement of youths (age 14 -23) from different national and ethnic origins living in the target areas of Armenia and Georgia. The young people participate in protection and research activities, implemented in the vicinity of their villages. These activities include cultural assets of different origins and religions, as well as pre-historic sites and medieval architectural monuments. By doing this, the project underlines that “Cultural assets belong to everybody”: regardless of nationality, religious faith or language, people living nearby a monument should care and preserve. This instils a new approach and knowledge about local cultural assets among the members of the youth clubs, established by FPWC and its Georgian project partner dvv international. Participating in the project activities, the members of the youth clubs support the cultural and touristic development of their regions. 

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Latest News

SOS Culture Awarded for Promotion of Culture at the Second Regional Conference of the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme

From November 5-7, FPWC’s SOS Culture project was represented at the Second Regional Conference “Facets of Culture in the Eastern Partnership” in Ukraine. The conference summarized the first phase of the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme. Around 120 delegates, including various representatives, culture actors, programme participants and beneficiaries from the EaP countries, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine gathered to share results and visions. As an output [more]


BARDZRAKASH ST. GREGORY MONASTERY PARTICIPATED IN 2014 WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH DAY ON MAY 26

On May 26 the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), in cooperation with its General Partner VivaCell-MTS and the World Monuments Fund, participated in a World Monuments Watch Day event at the St. Gregory Church (Bardzraqash) in Village Dsegh, Lori Province, Armenia. Watch Day is a series of celebratory and educational events supported by World Monuments Fund (WMF) held at cultural heritage sites included on the 2014 World Monuments Watch. Thanks to the efforts o[more]


Two-year Performance Summary

The twenty-four month project of SOS Culture came to an end on October 18, 2013. The project was financed by the Europeun Union, and was implemented by the Wildlife and Cultural Assets Preservation Fund (FPWC), in partnership with dvv international regional office in Tbilisi and Research on Armenian Architecture Foundation (RAA).The EU's contribution to the project amounts to 492.754 euros. The motto was, "Crossing borders to save, preserve and care." The project had the goal of engag[more]


SOS Culture Publications

On October 30, a press conference by Samvel Karapetyan dedicated to the SOS Culture project took place at the "Henaran" press club, where he presented the 5 booklets he had prepared about the historical monuments in the Tavush and Lori regions. The 24-month long project SOS Culture ended on October 18. It was funded by the European Union "European Neighborhood Policy" (ENP) through the Eastern Partnership Culture Program. The project was implemented by the Foundation for the[more]


Animal Carnival 2013

As last year, the SOS Culture project’s youth club members participated in the Animal Carnival organized by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets. On this day, October 27, the celebration was not only for the people of Yerevan, but also for the children from different regions. Because of the nature of the event, children were invited from various parts of Armenia. SOS Culture’s Alaverdi and Akhtala youth groups participated in the Animal Carnival, but the group mem[more]


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