LONDON.- The V&A has today announced the launch of an innovative new global platform allowing individuals and organisations behind key cultural heritage projects to connect with potential sponsors, collaborators and experts.

Created as part of the V&A’s Culture in Crisis programme, the platform is the first of its kind and is completely free to access and post about forthcoming projects. The Culture in Crisis Portal will become the world’s largest and most accessible database of cultural heritage preservation.

The Portal enables users to quickly and easily register their preservation projects using a desktop or mobile device, making them accessible and searchable worldwide. When exploring the database for existing projects, the rapid intelligent search feature allows the user to search and filter by project type, location and other specific criteria; revealing synergies between projects and offering opportunities to explore future collaborative projects.

Whether through conflict, criminal acts or natural disasters, the destruction of cultural heritage around the world is an ongoing and developing crisis. Yet, emerging from this destruction are many valuable projects which seek to promote, protect and preserve heritage in its innumerable forms.

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “This free digital resource and our Culture in Crisis programme is a demonstration of the V&A’s ongoing commitment to protecting the world’s cultural heritage and supporting communities that suffer cultural loss. We are very excited to launch this new portal and we hope that it will become the world’s largest and most accessible database of cultural heritage preservation projects.”

For over five years the V&A’s Culture in Crisis Programme has brought together those with a shared interest in protecting cultural heritage, providing a forum for sharing information, inspiring and supporting action and raising public awareness. The Culture in Crisis Portal represents a new frontier for the programme and is a demonstration of the V&A’s ongoing commitment to this field.

To register or find out further information, individuals and organisations can visit www.cultureincrisis.org