The Aliph Foundation has doubled the amount of emergency funding allocated for its coronavirus relief call.
The Swiss-based organisation, which helps safeguard world heritage sites that are in conflict or post-conflict areas, will give more than $2 million (Dh7.3 million), up from the $1m it envisaged giving to cultural heritage sites that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. These include more than 100 organisations in 60 countries, including the National Museum of Mali, the Uganda Museum in Kampala, Corporacion Cultural Museo del Vidrio of Bogota and the Directorate of Heritage and Archaeology of Mosul.
“We knew that there was a need, but we didn't know that it would be this much,” says Sandra Bialystok, a spokeswoman for Aliph. “We were also gratified that we were able to reach so many local and regional cultural heritage operators.”
Heritage sites have been particularly affected by the pandemic. They have met many of the same challenges as major museums and cultural organisations worldwide – such as closures, the postponement of rehabilitation or building work, and most crucially the loss of revenue and jobs – but from a standpoint of having smaller budgets and operating in more complicated conditions.
A substantial proportion of Aliph’s emergency funding will go to local organisations, around 90 per cent of which have not been supported by Aliph before. The young foundation credits being able to leverage its open call among its partners for having had a particularly wide reach, as well as the fact that it, for first time, held an information meeting for the grants in Arabic. Working with smaller projects has also diversified the type of work Aliph is supporting, with funding going to intangible heritage projects as well as museums and restoration sites.
Executive director Valery Freland says that the move towards local funding is one of the goals of the foundation.
"Our objective is to be able to work more and more with local organisations, and closer to communities," Freland says. "Of course, it's challenging because working in conflict areas there are not so many specialised operators able to accomplish huge rehabilitation projects, so we need both."
One of the new recipients of the emergency funding is Palestinian craft organisation Sunbula, which supports the preservation of traditional craft techniques. Sunbala’s store has been closed since March, causing a steep loss of revenue for the 2,000 workers in its affiliated artisan groups.
Aliph will also be distributing funds via partner organisations, such as Unesco, the International Council of Museums, the World Monuments Fund, and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
A slim organisation of eight people, such partnerships are key to Aliph’s modus operandi. Aliph was founded in 2016 with seed money from seven countries, including $30m from France, $20m from Saudi Arabia, and $15m from the UAE.
Our objective is to be able to work more and more with local organisations, and closer to communities
It supports a number of large-scale rehabilitation projects, such as the restoration of the Beit Al Tutunji in the old city of Mosul, a grand Ottoman-era house that was used as an artillery encampment by ISIS and partially destroyed by coalition air strikes, and the conservation of a Buddhist-era stupa in Shewaki, Afghanistan. (Both these projects were put on hold following the coronavirus outbreak and have since resumed.)
But the foundation also aims to be a coordinator, streamlining projects in a sector with many stakeholders. It has now launched, for example, a website with training resources for those in the cultural heritage field, such as practical modules in illegal trafficking and preventive conservation, and courses designed to raise general knowledge of the areas it is helping to safeguard, such as African rock art or the history of Mesopotamia in 3rd century BCE.
“This was the very first time that someone does something like this,” says Freland, “which is just trying to put everything and everyone in the same page, on the same website."
Another part of the $2m funding will go towards capacity-building initiatives, accomplished in partnership with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property and the Prince Claus Fund’s Cultural Emergency Response programme. These will support distance-learning initiatives for what is called cultural heritage “first-aid" – immediate responses to destruction that occurs mid-conflict.
“What we are creating with Aliph is something quite new: a small international organisation, focusing on concrete initiatives, concrete projects on the ground,” says Freland. “That’s what we tried to show with our action plan for Covid-19: a new way to do multilateralism.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
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THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
