Withstanding change

Withstanding Change: Heritage Amongst Climate Uncertainty is a £2.3 million programme led by INTO and the National Trust, funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund. It connected heritage organisations across the Middle East and Africa to protect and revitalise historic places affected by climate change.

From 2022 until the end of 2025, activities focused on strengthening climate resilience at six historic sites, improving access for local communities, and creating spaces where heritage inspires dialogue, learning, and action on climate.

Each site has been enhanced through targeted restoration, training in traditional and sustainable skills, and community-led initiatives that connect people with their cultural heritage and environment. Together, these actions demonstrated that heritage is not just at risk from climate change – it is a vital part of the solution.

Work started in early 2023 following a two-week study visit to the UK by representatives from each project partner. This was an opportunity to meet with INTO and National Trust colleagues and experts, ask questions, share ideas, and best practices, before returning to their respective sites, to refine and develop their own project plans.

In January 2024, the INTO project team met the project partners in Cairo. Hosted by the Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation (EHRF), this was an opportunity to review and evaluate progress to date, share best practice, and exchange knowledge.

After a project review with the evaluators in Zanzibar in October 2024, the project team met and presented at the INTO Jordan conference in December 2024. This conference, in collaboration with INTO, PNT and the Cultural Protection Fund, enabled the sites to share their learning with a wider international audience.

Additional funding was announced in June 2025, which enabled the partners to build on their community work and use the additional capacity to future-proof their work. In celebration of everything achieved, an exhibition was held in London in December 2025. This marked an extra special moment in the project, where the progress in Syria was highlighted to an international audience, in person and online.

Our partners have completed restoration work across all six sites, transforming spaces once vulnerable to climate impacts into active, accessible places for learning and community use. Exhibitions, museum openings, heritage-skills training, community events and youth leadership workshops have been held across the network, turning the restored sites into hubs for creativity, education and local adaptation.

Each organisation continues to share its work through films, podcasts, exhibitions and local engagement activities that demonstrate how cultural heritage can support climate adaptation and sustainable livelihoods. The programme’s evaluation is capturing these results – from improved site resilience and skills development to enhanced wellbeing and inclusion – providing valuable evidence for how culture and heritage contribute to national and international climate goals.