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.
Latest News
Our team is constantly trained!
The EU funded SOS Culture project team participated in the European Union’s Jean Monnet Programme Summer School: “European Integration - language, culture and identity” from 17- 25 July 2012 in Yerevan and Tsaghkadzor. The training was organised by the Yerevan State Linguistic University “Bryusov” UNESCO Chair on Human Rights, Democracy and European studies, supported by the European Commission in the framework of the Jean Monnet Programme of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Age[more]
We are already active in four youth clubs!
June 18th – 20th were very interesting and at the same time intense days for the members of our SOS Culture Youth Clubs. While in Varagavan our trainer Artem conducted a challenging training on leadership and communication, the youth club members in Alaverdi and Berdavan enjoyed their initial courses with teambuilding and icebreaking activities. In Akhtala the SOS Culture Club members were introduced to important topics of Nature Conservation like climate change, quality of air, biodiversity and[more]
SOS Сulture. Training courses have started
On June 11th the SOS culture team started its first training courses with the young members of the newly established youth clubs in Varagavan and Akhtala. The overall aim of the project is the preservation of abandoned and ruined cultural assets and raising awareness about them. We started the first training with ice-breaking and team-building activities. Only after a short time a free and inspiring working atmosphere could be created. The activities enabled the participants to get better acquai[more]
FPWC’s SOS Culture project goes GREEN!
The European Union funded SOS Culture project which is implemented by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) does its first big steps towards environmentally friendliness. One of the main aims of FPWC is to raise public awareness for the preservation of Armenia’s unique natural heritage. Pursuing this goal FPWC provides environmental education for children and youths, organizes environmental festivals and campaigns as well as other projects such as the produc[more]
