Friends of Havana is both a not-profit organization based in Leipzig, Germany and also an international network based in New York City.
Our People
The organization was founded as a project of the World Monuments Fund and incorporated as a non-profit association in Leipzig in 2019.
The association is led by six volunteer board members and has received funding from the Ford Foundation, Flora Family Foundation and other donors.
Our network includes universities including Pratt Institute and the New School, and non-profit organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund, Foundation for a Civil Society, MediCuba and many others.
“We are a non-profit and a network.”
Our Nonprofit Team
Alessandro d’Ansembourg
Co-Chairman
Norma Barbacci
Secretary
Jasper Goldman
President
Constanze Muller
Treasurer
Felipe Rutllant
Vice-President
Venetia Taylor
Co-Chairman
Our Network of Partners
Ángel Ayón, AYON Studio
New York, USA
Kent Barwick
New York, USA
David Burney, Pratt Institute
New York, USA
Helmo Hernandez, Ludwig Foundation of Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Patricia Rodriguez, Office of the Historian of the City of Havana
Havana, Cuba
Wendy Luers, Foundation for a Civil Society
New York, USA
Dan Whittle, Environmental Defense Fund
New York, USA
Our History
Friends of Havana was founded in October 2015 in response to a request from the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana to organize an international meeting about the future of Havana. The organization was founded as a project of the World Monuments Fund and incorporated as an independent non-profit association in Leipzig in 2019. Below is some of the key moments in our history:
FoH is founded in October 2015 during a meeting at the World Monuments Fund. During the meeting, Patricia Rodriguez, director of the Plan Maestro Division of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana proposes a meeting is organized in Havana to start an international dialogue about the future of the city.
FoH organizes its first major meeting “Hablemos de La Habana” with OHCH about the future of Havana. Over 35 international experts join over 150 local experts to discuss economic development, transportation, historic preservation, urban planning, community development in the city. International speakers include Sergio Fajardo, former mayor of Medellin; Janette Sadik-Khan, former transportation commissioner of New York City, and many others.
FoH organizes its second major meeting “Hablemos de Las Industrias Creativas” about the development of the creative industries in Havana with the Centro and the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba. International speakers include Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor of London for Culture.
FoH partners the Nature of Cities to bring a delegation from Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez to NYC to learn about best practices related to street tree management