WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH

The World Monuments Watch was established in 1995 with the announcement of a $5 million commitment over five years — the largest single grant ever made by American Express Philanthropy — to the World Monuments Fund (WMF), a non-profit, New York-based, international organization dedicated to preserving the world's cultural and architectural heritage. In 2000, the company announced that it would renew its commitment by contributing another $5 million through the year 2005, bringing its total investment in the Watch to $10 million over 10 years.

The grant made possible the creation of the World Monuments Watch, a global initiative to spur and catalyze worldwide action to protect and preserve monuments in peril. The Watch compiles and publishes a List of 100 Most Endangered Sites and supports conservation efforts at those sites through the World Monuments Watch program.

A panel composed of international preservation and travel industry experts, reviews nominations and selects all sites for the biennial list, which has thus far been published for 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

As the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Watch, American Express is providing direct support to a number of sites on the List, while the World Monuments Fund is working to secure funding for as many of the others as possible. To date, the World Monuments Watch program has awarded 424 grants for an estimated $39 million to aid 195 sites in 72 countries. American Express alone has funded 119 of those sites in 59 countries totaling $9 million to date. As a result of this private sector initiative, many governments have also made significant funds available for World Monuments Watch sites.

"At American Express, we view the preservation of imperiled historic sites and monuments as a vital cause, not only for our own future, but for the future of the entire travel and tourism industry," said American Express Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Chenault. "We also know that no single organization can effectively address the problem. By making a significant commitment to the World Monuments Watch, we want to help draw attention to the cause in the hope of encouraging others to step forward especially in the travel and tourism industry. We're delighted to see that happening."