An application should include a brief project outline, details of the people and institutions involved and a financial plan. Any other cooperation partners should be named.

Project applications can be sent to the following e-mail address:

E-mail: info@jutta-vogel-stiftung.de

The Executive Board and the Board of Trustees decide on the approval of foundation funds.

The foundation provides the following funding opportunities:

• It supports temporary research projects in the form of personnel, material and travel funds.
• It awards printing cost subsidies for the scientific documentation of the funded projects.
• It supports projects to carry out scientific research on cultural and landscape history and the production of scientific documentation and publications in this field.
• It promotes cultural preservation measures and projects to maintain monuments and prehistoric sites in Africa.
• It awards grants for cultural and landscape conservation measures such as the initialization and scientific management of protected areas and the training of local specialists required for this.

The deserts of Africa have always placed special demands on people and society. The lack of water, the scarcity of natural resources, frequent, often perennial droughts and the vulnerability of the ecosystem to overexploitation not only place narrow limits on human activity but also call into question human survival in arid zones in general.

The mobility, flexibility and solidarity of people living in the desert regions are ways of protecting themselves against the often hostile conditions. The transmission of experience, local knowledge and oral traditions is of central importance. Knowledge about the environment is also passed on from generation to generation, as is knowledge about caravan routes, markets and people in distant places. Only the knowledge accumulated over many generations makes the different types of tracks in the desert sand legible.

The cultures of Africa’s desert dwellers have been changing since the colonial era. Due to ecological changes, political machinations, social and economic shifts or newly implanted laws, the fragile environment of the inhabitants is constantly exposed to new challenges. Nomads were settled in many countries, their caravan routes were cut by borders and the few grazing lands were often settled by sedentary farmers. The military power of the desert peoples of Africa was broken in extensive campaigns. Modern nation states continued this policy, which was often directed against pastoral nomads.
Overall, the knowledge of the desert dwellers about their habitats is hardly valued, and their adapted way of life is defamed as old-fashioned and primitive.
Efforts for cultural autonomy are often nipped in the bud.

This makes global alliances all the more important for the affected groups. The foundation would like to make an active contribution here, actively preserve local knowledge and contribute to an understanding of the people and their Preservation of Cultures in the African Deserts.

Preservation of Cultures in the African Deserts is the main objective of the foundation set up by Jutta Vogel. The foundation aims to help raise awareness of the cultural heritage in the deserts of Africa, promote encounters between cultures, improve understanding of the people and their living environments in the deserts and protect and preserve their rich heritage.

The foundation therefore primarily welcomes applications from the disciplines of ethnology, archaeology and prehistory and early history. It supports research projects, scientific documentation, applications for the training of specialists and projects for the preservation of traditional cultural elements.

The Foundation tries to discuss applications and provide feedback promptly. No more than 2-4 weeks should pass between the submission of an application and the first feedback.

Yes, several projects can be submitted.