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

Interview with the president of the Research on Armenian Architecture Foundation Samvel Karapetyan

Mr. Karapetyan, as a president of the Research on Armenian Architecture Foundation, which is collaborating with the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), how do you evaluate the SOS Culture project? I have often organized trips to various sites of Armenia. That was the reason why I have accepted the proposal from the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets to collaborate within the project. First, it is interesting to visit ancient sit[more]


See how RAA team raises its voice for endangered cultural assets all over Armenia and beyond.

Since 1992 RAA uses the means of video to document cultural assets all over Armenia. On their youtube channel, they make this information accessible. Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA) NGO has been doing its various activities since the late 1960s. In Armenia it was established in 1998. The purpose RAA as an NGO is to investigate and document Armenian architectural monuments located outside the borders of present-day Republic of Armenia, i.e. in Cilicia and Historical Armenia, as well as i[more]


Alaverdi SOS Culture Youth Club Preserving our cultural heritage and environment

A wonderful event organized by Alaverdi SOS Culture youth club took place in Alaverdi on 8th of November, 2012. The event had a special focus on endangered cultural monuments and wildlife of Armenia. Members of Alaverdi SOS Culture youth club prepared and presented a small report about all endangered plants and animal species in Armenia. They were also worried about the cultural monuments that are abandoned. Young members of the SOS Culture youth club exhorted guests to be responsible for [more]


SOS Culture Youth Club Members participated in the Fifth Painting Day and in the Animal Carnival

The members of the SOS Culture Youth Clubs were busy last few weeks. They were preparing for two important events: FPWC’s Fifth Painting Day and Animal Carnival. During the preparations the rooms of the clubs filled with paper, colorful pencils, watercolor and animal masks. The first event which the SOS Culture youth clubs members from Alaverdi, Akhtala, Varagavan and Berdavan joined was the Painting Day. The Painting Day is the annual peak point of FPWC’s Pan-Armenian Painting Contest. Before [more]


SOS Culture Project and “Youth Advocacy for Peace” study session

EU funded SOS Culture project was introduced during the study session. A study session on “Youth Advocacy for Peace” took place in European Youth Center Budapest, Hungary on 14-20 of October, 2012. The study session was organized by United Network of Young Peacebuilders, International Centre for the Promotion of Education and Development (CEIPES), Support Initiative for Liberty and Democracy (SILBA) and Fundacio Catalunya Voluntaria supported by the Council of Europe Youth Department. The proj[more]