Activities >>

Projets situés

Introduction • Aim • Ethic • Structure • Implementation • Outputs • Funding • Process • How to submit •

Introduction
Africa 2009, was launched in 1998 at the regional meeting of African cultural heritage professionals held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. This program is a joint effort of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, ICCROM, and CRATerre-EAG, in partnership with the specialized organizations and institutions in Africa. The aim of the program is to improve the conditions of the conservation of immovable cultural heritage in the region while placing it within the larger framework of sustainable development. It is rooted in the notion that the problems facing conservation in Africa must be addressed not only through technical solutions, but also through better taking into account the relationship between the immovable heritage, its relevant communities and its overall environment.
AFRICA 2009 is structured to take advantage of activities at two levels:

• At the regional level, the projet cadre favors reflection and progress of thoughts, and guarantees continuity within individual activities and the dissemination of results. Courses, seminars, research projects and the improvement of networking are implemented, based on the realization that the best way to treat problems is to work together, share ideas, and develop common frameworks which can be adapted to specific local needs.
• At the site level, the projet situés ensure that AFRICA 2009 is deeply rooted in the realities of the field while responding to specific needs of selected sites in terms of training and implementation of conservation activities.

Information from projets situés nourish the activities developed within the projet cadre, while in turn, the knowledge and new ideas developed in the projet cadre are used in later projets situés. Through this continuous loop of feedback and response, the program creates specific references and models, which can be used for planning and management at both the site and national levels.

Aim of a projet situé
Apart from its role within the overall program, the aim of a projet situé is to improve the conditions for conservation at a specific site in the region. It is designed to rationalize working methods and adapt them to the realities on the ground so as to respond to the specific needs of the selected site.

Although adopting a very pragmatic and operational approach, a projet situé is a mean to upgrade the capacity of national/local professionals and reinforce the participation and awareness of local populations, rather than as a one time improvement of the state of conservation of the site. projets situés are also to establish self confidence within the local/national custodians and to enhance their recognition as efficient professionals.

As was suggested at the Directors Seminars, there are links between Africa 2009 and the “Global Strategy” in the view of increasing the representation of African heritage on the World Heritage List. Therefore, the preparation of nominations to the World Heritage List will also be considered for projets situés.

It should be noted that the projets situés that have been implemented to date have dealt mostly with heritage sites of a limited dimension. In the medium term, AFRICA 2009 program is committed to developing projects of a larger dimension related to the historical environment in urban and rural areas, archeological sites and cultural landscapes. Projects aiming at developing policies and to establish their subsequent juridical, institutional and administrative frameworks at national levels will also be considered. The concept of projet situé should be seen as very flexible.

Ethic of projets situés
The projets situés are to develop conservation activities at individual sites which:
• involve local communities in planning for and protecting heritage resources within their territory;
• give priority to local knowledge systems, human resources, skills, and materials;
• ensure capacity building;
• create a stable equilibrated base on which further sustainable developments can be made;
• give priority to simple, incremental solutions to problems, that can easily be implemented within an existing framework;
• focus on prevention and maintenance as a cost effective and sustainable strategy for management and conservation;
• ensure tangible benefits to local communities;
• create awareness and respect for international conservation norms.

Structure of a projet situé
The content of a projet situé is defined according to the particular needs of a site and its specific context. Besides staff training and actual implementation of conservation activities, educational and sensitization activities can be developed for decision-makers, professionals, technicians, artisans, and local communities. Efforts are made to use projets situés as a mean to train staff at the national level, and when possible at the sub-regional or regional level.
The projets situés are to develop a “planned intervention” philosophy rather than an “emergency intervention” philosophy. The following illustrates a possible structure for a projet situé.

1. The stabilization of the existing state of conservation of the site by minimizing or stopping the major risks of degradation, while exploring the possibility of initiating a sustainable system of funding for continued maintenance and preservation.
2. A deepening of knowledge about the site, its values and the factors which affect it, leading to the elaboration of a management plan which places monitoring, maintenance, and conservation into a sustainable development framework.
3. The progressive enhancement of the conservation and presentation of the site, on a scientific and historical basis, including possible conservation/restoration works, improvement of interpretive displays, development of publications, and the organization of tourism and/or educational activities.
   
   
   TOP

Implementation of a projet situé
To guarantee sustainability of projects, partnership and shared responsibility is set up, based on mutual knowledge of the partners, and on a common understanding of needs and methodologies for action. A preliminary proposal is to be prepared for consideration by Africa 2009 Steering Committee. Once funding is secured, a detailed plan of action is elaborated, and work can begin. Progress is monitored so as to adapt the plan of action to opportunities and possible unforeseen problems encountered.

Projects can be carried out in a single year, but more likely are spread out over a number of years with progressive phases corresponding to the structure outlined above. International inputs (missions and training seminars/workshops) can take place periodically while work by the local/national custodians is taking place on longer periods, often continuously.

Evaluations are carried out before launching new phases. It is envisioned that 2 years after the completion of a projet situé, a final evaluation will be carried out to measure more accurately the effectiveness of the mechanisms that have been put into place. These evaluations are required to continuously learn from the work being carried out, and to fine tune methodologies and frameworks of thoughts.

A projet situé can serve as a model for work to be carried out at other sites in the country or even the surrounding region. It can also be used as an opportunity to organize a national workshop, short term courses, exchange programs, internships, and study tours.

Projets situés are implemented by the national/local cultural heritage professionals in collaboration with AFRICA 2009 program staff and/or other consultants. Africa 2009 already uses and will more and more use the expertise of former participants to activities of either projet cadre or projets situés. For each projet situé, an agreed upon project proposal is to be adopted by all parties before funding can be sought and work begun.

Expected Outputs
Through their various stages, projets situés lead to a progressive improvement of local / national capacities in some of the following areas (according to needs):

• staff competence at various levels to form an operational team;
• knowledge of the site and its social, economic, and cultural context;
• knowledge of the potential of the local know-how and competence;
• appropriation of conservation techniques;
• appropriation of conservation strategies, giving priority first to the preservation of the site and then, to its enhancement;
• elaboration of management plans with short, medium and long term actions related to the maintenance, conservation, and presentation of the site;
• staff organization, and share of responsibilities within potential partners;
• availability of tools and equipment to improve the efficiency of the field crew;
• revenue accruing activities at the site or institution level.

It should be stressed that projets situés are not primarily aimed at the completion of specific work, but to set up the essential conditions for the local team to take charge of further activities at the site and to create a stable equilibrated base on which additional sustainable developments can be made.

Funding Options
Fundraising for the projets situés is carried out on a case by case basis to adapt to the specific needs, environment, opportunities and constraints of the site. Proposals are written for an entire project, or on a step-by-step approach. This later method allows for subsequent fundraising to be based on the successful completion of previous work. It should be noted that individual phases of the projects do not need to be costly. Requests for projets situés to Africa 2009 should remain around € 20,000, as it is only in exceptional cases that this amount might be exceeded. More important than money is the strong will at the national/local level to build capacity and carry out conservation activities.

Since 2003, Africa 2009 programme has a specific budget line for projets situés, but it is quite limited. Therefore, fundraising for projets situés should also be aimed at the World Heritage Fund, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, embassies, foundations, and local or international businesses. With an addition of sources for funding, it will be possible to implement more ambitious projects.

Projets situés can be classified under 3 main categories:
- Projects implemented with AFRICA 2009 funding and local resources.
- Projects co-financed by AFRICA 2009 and another donor (e.g. WHC-UNESCO, World Monuments Funds, Embassies, private companies, etc.).
- Projects implemented without any AFRICA 2009 funding, but which are indirectly benefiting from the AFRICA 2009 programme. (e.g. implemented by former course participants and/or using guidance provided by AFRICA 2009, etc…).

Positive decision by the Steering Committee is influenced by the commitment of the national institution in raising extra funds. It is highly desirable that national/local agencies would contribute to the projects, either with some amount of funding or resources. Primary responsibility for external fundraising is with the national institution but assistance and/or support from AFRICA 2009 may be possible.

Process
Three stages have to be followed before a Projet Situé can be implemented:
- Project preparation and submission
- Approval by the steering committee
- Preparation of the Memorandum of Understanding

This process can take up to a year, pending on the date of the steering committee meeting, and the availability of information to prepare the MoU (Memorendum of understanding). Implementation of Projet situé is averaging a period of 2 years. In order to better focus your request, you can receive advice from Africa 2009 staff and more specifically from CRATerre-ENSAG who is responsible for the implementation of Projet situés.

Approval by the steering committee
The Steering committee examines proposals once a year, in December. Projects are normally considered in December for implementation in the following year. Please note that the amount available for technical assistance is limited, so it is not possible to honour every request.
Technical assistance by AFRICA 2009 must sometimes be seen as seed money for the implementation of larger projects requiring important funding. The AFRICA 2009 technical assistance can serve to assist your institution in developing a management plan or draw up a conservation project with a precise budget and implementation schedule for example.
The submission of a first intent paper is recommended, as this will allow the requesting institution to first receive an in-principle agreement before a more concrete and detailed proposal is prepared. Decision may also be taken to provide assistance to finalise the request.

Criteria for Selection
The recommendations of the Abidjan Meeting in 1998 and the Directors Seminars held in Mombasa in 1999 and Porto Novo in 2000 stressed the need for continued development of the projets situés. To ensure fairness and transparency in the process of selection, and that chosen projects meet the long term strategic needs of Africa 2009, criteria have been elaborated. In specific cases, the program may still take advantage of short term opportunities when they are of specific interest.

1) Criteria for the projet situé itself:

• there is an urgency for intervention due to immediate threats;
• a specific and/or representative problem is encountered by the team in charge;
• a strong training component has been integrated within the program;
• proper review and evaluation mechanisms are built into the project so that it can actually contribute significantly to the projet cadre;
• there is a potential to develop subsequent phases;
• there is a potential for raising adequate funds
• the project is sustainable after implementation.

In addition, one of the following criteria must be met:

• the site is representative of a type of African immovable heritage which has not yet been dealt with by the AFRICA 2009 program; or
• the work on the site will add to the information on a typology that has already been addressed by the AFRICA 2009 program.

Please note that there is also a desire to:

• guarantee a geographical balance over the life of the programme for projets situés;
• ensure a balance between the variety of types of heritage in the region.

2) Criteria at the level of the national institution and/or the owner:

• there is a strong commitment to allocate resources to the conservation of the site, during and after the projet situé;
• the will to work in partnership with the AFRICA 2009 team;
• the will to establish this partnership on a long term basis so that results can be properly evaluated;
• the will to work within the aims and ethics of the projets situés, as defined above.

As was suggested at the Directors Seminars, there will have links between Africa 2009 and the "Global Strategy" in the view of increasing the representation of African heritage on the World Heritage List. Therefore, the preparation of nominations to the World Heritage List will also be considered for projets situés.
It should be noted that the projets situés that have been implemented to date have dealt mostly with heritage sites of a limited dimension. In the medium term, AFRICA 2009 program is committed to developing projects of a larger dimension related to historic urban and rural areas, and to cultural landscapes. Projects aiming at developing policies and to establish their subsequent juridical, institutional and administrative frameworks at national levels will also be considered.

Format for requests (Download form in Word format)

Please fill the form with brief and accurate information. No text should exceed 150 words if possible (e.g. description, history, significance, state of conservation…). Do not hesitate to add information if relevant (photographs). Information which does not fit in the form can be attached separately (e.g. budget, planning). In this case, mention the attachment in the form. PLEASE NOTE: Applications submitted should be endorsed and signed by the National Director of Cultural Heritage (or the Director or Head of the principle national institution responsible for conservation of immovable cultural heritage)".

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information when preparing your request. Return the filled forms to CRATerre-ENSAG, at the following address:
CRATerre-ENSAG
AFRICA 2009 – Technical Assistance for projets situés
B.P. 2636
38036 Grenoble Cedex 2, FRANCE
Tel : +33 (0)4 7669 8341/ Fax : +33 (0)4 7495 6421 (only dial the “0” if calling from France)
e-mail: thierry.joffroy @grenoble.archi.fr
e-mail: sebastien.moriset@grenoble.archi.fr
e-mail: bako_rakotomamonjy@hotmail.com

Partners
African Organizations in Charge of Immovable Cultural Heritage
ICCROM
UNESCO World Heritage
CraTerre-EAG