Over time, by providing a market for these assets that does not now exist, this program will help improve asset values, increase lending capacity by banks, and reduce uncertainty about the scale of losses on bank balance sheets.

WSJ: Geithner: My Plan for Bad Bank Assets

"Over time, by providing a market for these assets that does not now exist, this programme will help improve assets values, increase lending capacity by banks, and reduce uncertainty about the scale of losses on bank balance sheets, " US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote in the Wall Street Journal before the programme was officially announced.

BBC: US unveils $1tn toxic asset plan

As natural disasters and wars rip apart societies, and as large-scale modernization projects, urbanization, and transnational migration bring about sudden dislocations, the endurance of cultural beliefs, values, practices, and knowledge, and their transmission across generations have become significant concerns.

UNESCO: Resilient Societies