Reina Sofía International Award for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage

Since 2001, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), has been promoting the Reina Sofía International Award for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage. The award is aimed at recognizing a work, initiative, or professional trajectory that stands out in the field for its quality or beneficial impact on the development of the geographical area in which it was created, especially when such area is part of Latin America. The call of the Reina Sofía International Award for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage is divided in two parts: Material Heritage and Immaterial Heritage. Each category offers a purse of thirty thousand euros (30,000.00 euros). There is also a trophy specially designed for the award, a plaque, and a commemorative diploma whose combined value, according to today¿s market, is four thousand euros (4,000.00 euros). The call is open to individual or corporate entities, legally constituted, who submit their proposals in the manner, and in compliance with the requirements, established by the call; and who have stood out for their relevant performance in the fields of conservation and restoration of cultural heritage, in countries of the Ibero-American community, with the exceptions of Spain, Portugal, and Andorra. The submission of candidacies must be done in writing and directed to the secretariat of the Award, and must indicate the identity of the beneficiary and explain the merits and circumstances that support the candidacy. Application must be accompanied by a summary of the candidacy and by a DVD or PowerPoint presentation, in order to facilitate the analysis by the jury as well as its subsequent storage. Likewise, applicants may submit any complementary visual documentation deemed useful for evaluating the quality of the proposals. Submissions must also be accompanied by the following information: Projects associated with the conservation, research, and promotion of cultural heritage must include information labels with the name, location, physical and geographical description of the work, as well as any documentation that sufficiently corroborates the relevance of the actions performed. For the recognition of trajectories centered on the conservation, research, and promotion of cultural heritage by individuals or corporate entities: individuals must present documentation that corroborate their identity and a résumé of their professional careers; corporate entities must submit the identity papers of the corporation¿s representative, or representatives, and of their foundational statutes, as well as any documentation that sufficiently corroborates the relevance of the actions performed by the institutions. Participants in the segment of safekeeping of Immaterial Heritage: must present documentation that corroborate an ongoing cultural tradition that stems from the creative genius of mankind and that contributes to the reaffirmation, improvement or even survival of the cultural identity of a community. Applications must also include proof that a plan is in place for the preservation, revitalization, and promotion of such community. Participants in any of the three categories must also submit: a detailed description of the objective (s) of the project (s), an analysis of any problems associated with conservation, in connection to the cultural heritage intervened, as well as a description of the criteria and methodology that guided the action. The deadline to present all candidacies is April 18, 2011. The presentation of proposals can be done at the registry office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, located at: Avenida de los Reyes Católicos, 4, 28040 Madrid (Spain), and at the agency¿s registry offices abroad, at cooperation offices, cultural centers, and information centers). More information is available at: