Ambassador Tefft’s farewell Cultural Heritage Grants Announced

September 1, 2009

U.S. Ambassador John Tefft and Director of the Georgian National Museum, Davit Lordkipanidze.

On Monday, August 31, in the National Museum of Georgia, U.S. Ambassador John Tefft; Director of the Georgian National Museum, Davit Lordkipanidze; and Chair of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage, Nikoloz Vacheishvili, announced two grants for the preservation of Georgian cultural heritage. The grants - totaling nearly $80,000 - are part of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), a U.S. State Department initiative in support of the preservation of cultural patrimony worldwide.

"We are proud of the fact that when Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Vashadze signed the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership in January, it had sections on defense, democracy and economy, but it also had a section on culture. To me that symbolizes importance that we place on cultural exchange; it's right on top of the mainstream of our bilateral relationship," - Ambassador Tefft said. This year's competitive grant awards by the AFCP include the National Museum's project for safeguarding and conserving medieval manuscripts and icons in the Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography, and the National Agency for Cultural Heritage's project for rehabilitating St Georgi's Church in Arbo and Trinity Church in Tirdznisi, two villages located in the Shida Kartli region. With these two projects, there have now been 7 U.S. government-funded projects to preserve Georgian cultural heritage totaling over $160,000 over the last six years. These grants were the last AFCP grants which Ambassador Tefft awarded before the end of his assignment in Georgia. As a sign of gratitude, the Georgian National Museum awarded Ambassador Tefft with a Diploma of Honor for his Dedication, Friendship and Generosity.