World Monuments Watch

The World Monuments Watch is a nomination-based program that connects local heritage preservation to global awareness and action. Every two years, the Watch rallies support to places in need and the people who care for them, spotlighting new challenges and the communities worldwide harnessing heritage to confront the crucial issues of our time. At its core, the Watch’s call to action seeks to empower timely preservation efforts that improve the lives of communities.

The 2022 Watch included an emphasis on sites facing global challenges of climate change, imbalanced tourism, underrepresentation, and recovery from crisis. The Watch not only brings awareness to these pressures on heritage places but is the impetus for developing new advocacy efforts and field projects that provide local solutions with global relevance. 

The Watch provides a critical platform to raise awareness of and support for heritage places of global significance that are facing pressures relating to the most important global issues of our time – from climate change and underrepresentation to recovery from crisis and beyond. These challenges exist throughout the world, providing an opportunity for developing site-specific interventions that have global applications. By protecting these irreplaceable sites for future generations, we can also enhance social inclusion and improve the resilience of communities as they adapt for the future. 

Every two years, WMF holds an open call for nominations that undergo extensive internal and external review. Sites can be nominated by anyone in the world, ensuring that the Watch remains a powerful platform for amplifying voices of local community members and residents. The 2022 Watch open call resulted in more than 225 nominations from individuals and community-based organizations that span the globe.   

Nominations are now closed for the 2025 cycle.

Among the criteria considered are the site’s cultural significance, the need for timely action, and the feasibility of the proposed approach. Emphasis is also placed on lesser-known sites associated with groups whose livelihoods would be directly and meaningfully impacted by preservation activities that support community well-being.

Because the needs and circumstances around each site vary, WMF works closely with successful nominators and other stakeholders to determine the best way to leverage the Watch to make a meaningful contribution at each site. In all cases, successful nominations benefit from public awareness, collaboration with WMF’s expert staff, financial support for a community-based event known as a “Watch Day,” and membership to WMF’s Watch Network, our global network of preservation leaders and practitioners. 

In certain cases, WMF also works to develop new field projects in partnership with local stakeholders through the Watch. Ranging from advocacy and skills training to planning and physical conservation, interventions take different forms depending on the unique needs of the site, local context, and opportunities to support communities in addressing global challenges. 

World Monuments Fund is not a grant-making institution, and the process of nominating a site to the Watch is not a grant application. Inclusion on the Watch can create new opportunities for nominators and other stakeholders to advocate for sites and seek funds for a preservation project if they so choose. 

Additionally, WMF often raises funds from individuals and grant-making institutions for certain Watch sites to support joint work between WMF and our local partners. 

Since its launch in 1996, more than 800 sites have benefitted from the visibility and awareness generated through the Watch as well as from the consultation with our team and other resources the program provides successful nominators. 

WMF has contributed more than $110 million toward projects at more than 300 Watch sites, with the visibility provided by the Watch helping communities leverage an additional $300 million from other sources. 

The 2022 Watch sites represent a diverse array of challenges and opportunities. As such, our goals for each site are unique and are driven by the needs expressed by their stakeholders. At the same time, the projects developed as part of the Watch can provide new insights for addressing similar challenges elsewhere in the world. Some require advocacy to protect the heritage of underrepresented groups. Others need physical conservation to address damage caused by climate change as well as strategies for adapting to a warming planet. Others seek more inclusive strategies for managing tourism. World Monuments Fund is actively working with our partners on the ground to develop action plans and storytelling efforts that support their most urgent needs.