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A heritage practitioner looking across the sea towards Table Mountain

Protecting memory · Supporting people

Exceptional voices must be heard.

Cultural heritage connects communities with their past, helping them understand the present and shape the future. It is a fundamental need—yet often under threat or deliberately weaponised.

Why the fund exists

Stories can preserve what violence seeks to erase.

Storytellers, writers, poets, visual artists, filmmakers and journalists play a vital role in safeguarding heritage by recording narratives and preserving memory.

The CIE Fund for Exceptional Voices is dedicated to protecting and supporting people in our trusted network who courageously document and preserve memory and heritage under challenging—and sometimes dangerous—circumstances.

Whether through art, journalism, writing, oral histories, photography or social media, these voices ensure the world bears witness and that communities maintain their vital link to the past.

Designated project support

What the fund makes possible

Contributions can be designated to featured projects and are managed with clear reporting to donors.

01Safety

Emergency support

Provide emergency aid, education and safe evacuation when necessary.

02Continuity

Tools to keep working

Equip journalists and storytellers with the tools they need to continue their work.

03Memory

Preserve testimony

Protect and preserve testimonies so that truth survives even when people are silenced.

Voice in Focus · 2026

Asem Al Jerjawi

A 23-year-old writer and journalist from Gaza, Palestine, accepted to study for an MA at University College Dublin.

Current appealEducation & safety

Help Asem reach Dublin

His tuition has been waived. The current appeal seeks €25,000 for living expenses and the practical support needed to continue his education and writing.

Read Asem’s story
JournalismTestimony

Writing against erasure

Asem documents displacement, cultural loss, art and everyday life in Gaza for international publications.

Read selected writing
CIE networkExceptional Voices

Direct, named support

Donors can designate their contribution specifically to Asem through the CIE Fund.

Support Asem

Transparency

Clear commitments to creators and donors

Full transparency is central to how the CIE Fund operates.

01

Direct allocation

CIE allocates 100% of designated donations to the featured project. Organisational and administrative costs are covered separately. Any necessary change in allocation will be communicated transparently.

02

Clear reporting

All use of funding will be justified and reported to donors.

03

Open communication

CIE maintains communication with both creators and donors.

An invitation

In saving lives, we also save the stories.

We invite organisations, institutions and individuals to contribute. Donors may designate their contribution to a featured project supporting people who risk everything to speak out, write, film and remember.

In saving the stories, we honour the lives. Supporting the CIE Fund helps build a more inclusive and representative heritage landscape—one where silenced voices have the chance to be heard.