Milestones, 1998 Annual Report

To observe a year in the life of the World Monuments Fund, as we do here in our Annual Report for Fiscal Year 1998, is to marvel at the energy and commitment of OUf staff, to be dismayed at the gravity and breadth ofthe needs that we address, and to celebrate the milestones of progress and accomplishment. This report invites appreciation ofthe growth and achievements ofthe organization, and also offers a vision of how WMF will proceed in the future. In our opinion, the most impressive feature of WMF's activities is the astonishing variety ofthe preservation projects around the world that benefit from our attention, expertise, and funding. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the call~to~actionissued under the heading World Monuments Warch. Announced during the year, the List of 100 Most Endangered Sites for 1998 encompasses sites from the famous (a Theban temple dedicated to Amenhotep III near the Valley of rhe Kings) to the forgotten (45 prehistoric burial towers in western Bolivia). By raising alarms for places in peril, the Watch program urges prompt response, and the results from the first two~year list announced in 1996-through rhe generosiry of our donors, WMF awarded $3 million to 48 ofthe 100 sites-were especially gratifying. As we had hoped, the World Monuments Watch nor only spotlighted the many dangers (some very unexpected!) that menace the built environment bur also helped to sponsor solutions, attracting fresh attention and significant new support for the selected sites. In a few cases, simply listing the threat served to provoke a means to avoid it.