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World Monuments Fund (WMF) is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jean-Louis Cohen on August 7, 2023. As a valued member of the jury for the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize, Cohen played a crucial role in raising awareness of the conservation challenges facing modernist buildings around the world and the innovative work being done to preserve them. 

In 2022, World Monuments Fund (WMF) and Magnum Foundation announced that they were partnering to support local photographers around the world in documenting the sites on the 2022 World Monuments Watch and the communities around them.

WMF first included Osmania University College for Women on the World Monuments Watch in 2002 in response to the collapse of one of the building’s signature spaces, the Durbar Hall, caused by water damage to the timber support structures. It was listed again on the 2004 Watch due to the extensive conservation needs. In the following years, WMF first developed a Conservation Management Plan that focused on enhancing structural stability, mitigating water damage, and improving maintenance plans, which ultimately led to the start of the restoration phase in 2015.

“We are proud to witness today the next stage in the restoration of the cultural heritage and civilization of the spirit of Mosul,” said Dr. Laith Hussein, Director of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), as part of his opening remarks at the launch event, which drew 300 people and included live music and tours of the galleries and gardens.