October 15, 2012

Kabul, Afghanistan – Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading total communications provider, today announced it was the recipient of three awards at the Ninth Annual International Business Awards in Seoul, South Korea. More than 3,200 entries from organizations and individuals across the world vied for the prestigious Stevie awards.

Roshan Chief Executive Officer Karim Khoja was awarded the Silver Stevie, winning the title of ‘Executive of the Year’ for the telecommunications category. Roshan Community, Roshan’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, received the Silver Stevie for ‘CSR Program of the Year in the Middle East and Africa.’ A Bronze Stevie was awarded to Roshan’s Customer Care Division in the category of ‘Customer Service Department of the Year’ for the telecommunications industry.  

“These three awards are recognition for all of the hard work and dedication of Roshan’s 1,300 employees and reflects the ethos of not only commercial success but also social impact in Afghanistan’s future,” Khoja said. “Since 2003, we have strived to build for Afghans a world-class company that employs and develops local staff of which almost 20 percent are women and provides the nation with services that spur economic development and rebuilding of the country. It is a real honor to be recognized by the international community for leading innovation and quality of service in Afghanistan.  These are not simply wins for Roshan. They are wins for the people of Afghanistan,” Khoja added.

A robust social responsibility program is a vital aspect of our commitment to Afghanistan’s long-term, sustainable development.  Roshan’s, Corporate Social Responsibility arm, Roshan Community has over the past year:

• Served over a half a million meals, through a partnership with Afghan NGO Aschiana;
• Built three playgrounds bringing Roshan’s overall total to 19 some of which are in the most insecure parts of the country;
• Constructed 40 wells country-wide bringing the overall number to over 100 that have benefited more than 100,000 people; and
• Expanded its Telemedicine Project to connect the Faizabad hospital with the Bamyan Hospital in Central Afghanistan, the French Medical Institute for children in Kabul and Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, thereby increasing delivery of medical care to the most remote regions of Afghanistan and enabling remote diagnosis and medical personnel training.

“We believe in the power of telecommunications to bring about measurable change, and this Silver Stevie for Roshan Community is demonstrative of that,” Khoja also said.

Since beginning operations, Roshan has focused on providing the best in customer service and overall customer experience.  Roshan was the first to open a 24/7 customer care center, open centers outside of Kabul to better serve its customers, and also the first to introduce an IVR system.  In addition, Roshan is the first company to have attained ISO-9001:2008 certification. The certification is the highest quality management recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). According to Khoja, “Roshan’s Customer Service Program owes its success to an unwavering dedication to quality and reliability—values that make Roshan’s Customer Service Program the best in Afghanistan and able to compete on a global scale.”

To learn more about the Stevie Awards visit www.stevieawards.com.

About Roshan

Roshan (Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd) is Afghanistan’s leading total communications provider with over six million active subscribers and a network that covers over 230 cities and towns in all of the country’s 34 provinces.

Roshan is a true Afghanistan success story, serving as a catalyst for economic growth and actively contributing to the country’s long-term development. Since its inception nine years ago, Roshan has invested over $550 million in Afghanistan and is the country’s single largest investor and taxpayer, contributing approximately five percent of the Afghan government’s overall domestic revenue. Roshan directly employs more than 1,200 people, 20 percent of whom are women, and provides indirect employment to more than 30,000 people.

Roshan is deeply committed to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a major shareholder of Roshan and promotes private initiatives and building economically sound enterprises in the developing world. Also owned in part by Monaco Telecom International (MTI) and TeliaSonera, Roshan brings international expertise to the country and is committed to the highest standards of network quality and coverage for the people of Afghanistan.

Source: Roshan Afghanistan

See also:

• Roshan Community
  We take pride in being a catalyst for the long-term development of Afghanistan. Learn more »

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Foreign invaders have always had a difficult relationship with Afghanistan. The diary of Babur, the first Moghul emperor, offers some lessons in how to manage—and to enjoy—the place

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The tomb of Babur, the first Moghul emperor, blasted and pock marked during the civil war of the 1990s, has been lovingly restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Some visitors come because it is now Kabul’s most tranquil public space; some because Babur is emerging as an unlikely national hero in a country short of leaders worth admiring. People pray at the foot of his low, simple grave. (…)

Read full rticle on The Economist com

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Kabul, 19 October 2012 – His Excellency Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and His Highness the Aga Khan officially opened the restored mausoleum of Timur Shah today..

The historic monument, which had fallen into disrepair during decades of civil war, has been restored as part of an on-going programme undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan. The work, which began in 2003, encompassed the mausoleum and the rehabilitation of the one hectare park surrounding the building. Timur Shah was the Durrani King who made Kabul the capital of the modern Afghan State.

The Aga Khan recalled that when the Aga Khan Development Network staff became involved in the restoration work in Afghanistan, they were struck by the abundance and quality of the country’s cultural assets. He also reaffirmed the Network’s commitment to Afghanistan. “Restoration of Afghanistan’s cultural assets will remain an important part of AKDN’s work,” he said.

The park has been replanted with mulberry trees in keeping with the original plans. The central space of the mausoleum has already been the setting for lectures, seminars and exhibitions.
Timur Shah’s mausoleum is part of a series of projects undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture since 2002, when it signed an agreement with the government of Afghanistan to restore and rehabilitate a number of historic buildings and public spaces in the city of Kabul.

In concert with a wide range of initiatives undertaken by the other agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network, the Trust’s work has focused on improving the overall quality of life in Kabul through the restoration of the sixteenth century Baghe Babur (Babur’s Gardens) and a number of other urban generation projects in the Ashequan wa Arefan neighbourhood. A similar initiative in Herat commenced in 2005.

The sixteenth-century Baghe Babur, where the first Mughal emperor, Babur, is buried, was once severely damaged by war. It now provides the population of Kabul with a space for recreation and cultural events. Various facilities – including a swimming-pool, garden Pavilion, caravanserai and Queen’s Palace complex – have been in public use since their completion in 2007. In addition to the conservation work in Baghe Babur, basic drainage, water and sanitation infrastructure has been undertaken in the surrounding neighbourhood.

The Asheqan wa Arefan neighbourhood, which suffered massive damage in the early 1990s, has also been a focus of activity. Since early 2003, 11 homes and 15 historic public buildings have been conserved as models of restoration. Nearly 7.5 kilometres of underground and surface drains have been repaired or rebuilt over the past eight years, while an area of more than 16,000 square metres of pedestrian alleyways and streets have been paved within the historic fabric. Zarnegar Park, to the north of the old city, and the Baghe Qazi, have also been rehabilitated.

Over 30,000 residents benefited directly from these programmes, which required over 365,000 workdays of skilled and unskilled labour. More than 150 young men have undertaken apprenticeships as carpenters, masons and plasterers, working alongside highly skilled Afghan craftsmen. More than 2200 women from the neighbourhood have attended courses in tailoring, embroidery and kilim-weaving, along with literacy classes.

The Aga Khan Development Network began working in Afghanistan in the late 1990s, providing food aid and a range of livelihood and support services to Afghan refugees who had fled their homes as a result of the on-going conflict. At the January 2002 Tokyo Conference, which initiated the formal Afghan reconstruction process, His Highness the Aga Khan made a pledge of US$ 75 million to support international reconstruction efforts. This pledge marked the transition of AKDN’s intervention in Afghanistan from humanitarian relief to comprehensive development, and the beginning of a formal partnership between AKDN and the Afghan government.

Ten years later, AKDN’s assistance to Afghanistan has exceeded His Highness’ original pledge by more than 80 percent. Through formal partnerships with the Afghan government, significant joint investments into Afghan companies, and national and regional development programmes in partnership with other international actors and donors, AKDN has channelled more than $700 million toward Afghanistan’s economic, social, and cultural reconstruction. In June 2008, His Highness the Aga Khan pledged an additional $100 million for the period 2008-2012.

Source: AKDN Org

Kabul, Afghanistan, 19/10/2012 – President Karzai and the Aga Khan officially opened the restored mausoleum of Timur Shah today. The historic monument was restored as part of an on-going programme by aktc to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan.

	The mausoleum of Timur Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, after restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. – Photo: AKDN
	Timur Shah’s mausoleum, which had fallen into disrepair during decades of civil war, has been restored as part of an on-going programme undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan. – Photo: AKDN
	The Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s work, which began in 2003, encompassed the mausoleum and the rehabilitation of the one hectare park surrounding the building. – Photo: AKDN
	The Trust’s work has focused on improving the overall quality of life through a number of urban generation projects in Kabul and Herat. Work on the Citadel of Herat commenced in 2005 and was completed in 2011. – Photo: AKDN

Photos: AKDN org

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Press Release

Please also see:

Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan and Photo Gallery

Kabul, 20, October 2012 – His Excellency Karim Khalili, Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, and His Excellency Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, were the guests for the occasion.

In a speech at the ceremony the Aga Khan hailed the FMIC’s standards of excellence and said the facility was making Afghanistan’s health care system more self-reliant.

“What all of this means for Afghanistan, quite simply, is that people here no longer need to feel they must venture outside the country in order to get quality health care,” he said, adding that he regarded the FMIC and its expansion as part of broader effort to bring quality medical care not only to Afghanistan but also the neighbouring areas. He also announced longer-term plans to build an international medical centre serving the entire region on a plot adjacent to the hospital.

The hospital’s new US$ 17.7 million wing will be financed by the Government of France (US$ 11.7 million) and the Aga Khan Development Network (US$ 6 million). The start of services is planned for early 2015. A dedicated team from FMIC and the Aga Khan University (AKU) will oversee the progress of the project.

France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius, described the Kabul hospital and its staff as exemplary. He said he was greeted at the hospital door by a five-year old girl who had an open heart surgery just days ago. “What other justification does one need?” he said.

Afghanistan’s vice president, Karim Khalili, also lauded FMIC’s work. “FMIC has achieved many successes since its inception and has achieved excellence in many fields in healthcare in Afghanistan,” he said.

The French Medical Institute for Children, inaugurated in 2006, is a public-private partnership between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Government of France, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and the French organization “La Chaîne de l’Espoir”. The Hospital is managed and operated by the Aga Khan University (AKU), which is an agency of the AKDN.

In a brief address at the foundation ceremony the president of La Chaine de l’Espoir, Dr Eric Cheysson, described the occasion as a moment of “great emotion, honour and a fulfillment of a dream”.

In the last six years, FMIC has introduced advanced techniques in pediatric care, such as pediatric cardiac surgery, spine surgery and laparoscopic surgeries for children. In 2009, the services of the FMIC were certified as compliant with ISO 9001:2008 standards, which reflects their quality. The FMIC has also started its first Post Graduate Medical Education (PGME) programs in pediatric medicine and pediatric surgery in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Health and the AKU in Karachi, Pakistan. The hospital is also the hub for telemedicine in the country, providing services to hospitals in Bamyan and Faizabad.

The introduction of the new obstetric and gynecology services follows the initial plan of the partners to establish a comprehensive Mother and Child Hospital and to respond to the needs of the Afghan population in health care. The principles of capacity building for local health care providers, which has been established at the FMIC, will be maintained and extended to services for the care of women and newborns country wide.

Read more on AKDN org

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Please also see Related Material:
Kabul’s Timur Shah Mausoleum Opened by President Karzai and the Aga Khan

Kabul, Afghanistan, 19/10/2012 – President Karzai and the Aga Khan officially opened the restored mausoleum of Timur Shah today. The historic monument was restored as part of an on-going programme by aktc to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan.

President Karzai and His Highness the Aga Khan touring the restoration of the mausoleum of Timur Shah. – Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

President Karzai and the Aga Khan inaugurate the restoration of the mausoleum of Timur Shah. – Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

President Karzai and the Aga Khan unveil a plaque commemorating the restoration of the mausoleum of Timur Shah. – Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

Source: AKDN org

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Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (right) meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai (left) at King Khalid airport in Riyadh

By Frud Bezhan

November 05, 2012

Saudi Arabia’s support for Afghanistan has been steady but inconspicuous over the years. But that is about to change.

The powerful Sunni-majority kingdom is embarking on a very public effort to carve out a bigger role in Afghanistan, pitting the oil-rich Gulf state directly against Shi’ite rival Iran in the race for influence as foreign forces leave.

That much became clear on October 29, when the Afghan government announced that Riyadh would build a multimillion-dollar Islamic complex in Kabul, marking its largest and most expensive foray into post-9/11 Afghanistan.

The project, which is expected to cost between $45 million and $100 million, was agreed between the two countries in Jeddah. Construction is expected to begin next year. The Islamic complex will cover 24 hectares on Maranjan Hill in central Kabul. It will feature a university, a hospital, a sports hall, and a mosque capable of holding around 15,000 worshippers at a time.

When completed, it will become a rival to the massive Iranian-built Khatam al-Nabyeen Islamic University in western Kabul. The Shi’ite religious school, which was opened in 2006, was built at a cost of some $17 million by one of Afghanistan’s most Iran-leaning clerics. The campus has a mosque, classrooms, and dormitories for its 1,000 Afghan students.

Read full article on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty org

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Roadside bombs. Opium poppies. Machine guns. Most images of Afghanistan that reach the Western world tell a story of intractable conflict and chaos – but to the 30 million people who call Afghanistan home, war is only one piece of the puzzle.

Some Western journalists have tried to put together a more complete picture of the complexities of human development in Afghanistan, braving the challenges of reporting from one of the world’s most difficult regions. Stories on maternal and child health, rural employment, community governance and girls’ education rarely make international headlines, but they are some of the most pressing issues facing Afghans today – and without progress in these and other areas, prospects for long-term peace are poor.

To share their experiences of reporting from Afghanistan, Aga Khan Foundation Canada is pleased to welcome Edward Girardet, author of Killing the Cranes: A Reporter’s Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan, freelance writer and broadcaster Naheed Mustafa, and Toronto Star reporter Paul Watson, for a panel discussion on the challenges of reporting on human development in Afghanistan. 

Moderated by Chris Eaton, Executive Director of World University Service of Canada, the panel discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and reception.

We hope you will join us:

Thursday, November 29, 2012

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat

199 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1N 1K6

Read more about this discussion on Aga Khan Foundation Canada

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All this should come as no surprise. After decades of war, terror, and being uprooted and dehumanized, Afghan society is deeply traumatized. It will not only take a great deal of time for the society to recover, but, most of all, elaborate assistance in order to build up external structures and foster the internal strength necessary for a post-war society to find its own autonomous path that includes equal rights for all. But what happens when those offering assistance are primarily interested in their own agenda, rather than in promoting development in line with the local population’s needs?

Untiring service for human rights: Sima Samr served as Minister of Women’s Affairs of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2003. She was forced into resignation from her post after she was threatened with death for questioning conservative Islamic laws. She is currently the Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission

Nonetheless, not everything was and is bad in Afghanistan. Since the overthrow of the Taliban, there are women (and even a few men) who have shown much courage in working towards a true peace. They are hardly visible, yet one of them is now in the spotlight – the Afghan doctor and women’s rights activist Sima Samar.

In early December, she will be awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize in Stockholm for her “courage and decisiveness in the struggle for human rights and the rights of women.” As a doctor and women’s rights activist, she knows very well the suffering of Afghan men and women. During the time in which she served as Minister for Women’s Affairs, she experienced the rigidity of her corrupt, backward-looking, and power-hungry colleagues in parliament.

New murders

As Chairwoman of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHCR), she has fought for years against those attempting to prevent the disclosure and prosecution of war crimes committed over the past three decades. These individuals would stop at nothing to keep from being incriminated, even if it meant committing new murders.

Since the mid-1980s, in whatever activity she undertook, Samar dedicated herself to working for the improvement of living conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan. Eleven years after the invasion of Afghanistan by NATO forces, they are still suffering under repressive structures, and are being tortured, raped, and suppressed.

It is therefore all the more vital for the international community to finally show cohesion and decisiveness by condemning violence against women and by supporting women’s right to participate in the Afghan peace process as members of civil society. This is particularly relevant, as NATO has repeatedly used the issue of the “liberation of Afghan women” as a main argument for their policies in Afghanistan since 2001.

Liberation only on talk shows

Even here in Germany, politicians have shown no hesitation in repeatedly referring to “the girl schools and the poor women in burkas” on an endless number of talk shows in order to justify the costs of the Afghanistan expedition to the German taxpayer. Yet, a closer examination of these costs reveals contradictions. German expenditures for civilian reconstruction in Afghanistan until 2010 consisted of only a quarter of the total costs – far less than military expenditures and only one percent (!) of these funds were invested in women’s projects.

Forsaken by the West? Monika Hauser is critical of the German government’s new strategy, and says Berlin is apparently less interested in exporting democracy and more intent on observing local traditions and power structures. “In order to attain a just peace, inhumane structures should be dismantled, not tolerated”

Instead of revising its previous policies and, although somewhat belated, at least now begin to address the necessary priorities of promoting and protecting human rights in Afghanistan, the German government has instead reached a completely different conclusion. According to its new general guidelines, which since September now determine how all government agencies should deal with what are defined as “fragile states” such as Afghanistan, more consideration will be given to local traditions and power structures! This is what I call a truly grandiose tactic of renewed obfuscation.

From the very start, efforts towards building a real democracy in Afghanistan were laughable and half-hearted. In the final analysis, this merely served as the justification of a policy of maintaining loyalty to the NATO alliance, which had to be sold to the electorate in most attractive package possible. And now this is the time for more democracy and not less, as only democracy can solve the problems. Yet, we are instead presented with nebulous new guidelines.

NATO’s lack of success

Berlin will now rely on local notions of legitimacy and on traditions to help stabilize fragile states. What will this mean, however, for Afghan women, who until now have been dramatically underrepresented in all government bodies, and whose desire for political participation is openly met with insult, persecution, and violence? These women suffer daily under the strict conservative and patriarchal structures of society. In the name of a just social peace, it should be a matter of fighting against such structures rather than accepting them.

Monika Hauser: “It is time for something new. Afghan women are ready. Are Western politicians ready as well?”

“Who, of all people, need the return to old tradition? Perhaps those who do not wish to assume responsibility for the new? More important than anything else, though, is to provide support for those in Afghanistan who have already long been courageously working for changes and offering alternatives – smart, self-aware women like the prize-winner Sima Samar.

Yet, what chance do women like Samar have with their ideas of equal rights for women in a this society, when, at the local level and even in the international community, existing power structures are not only accepted as a cultural given, but are being consolidated as well?

The eleven years since the start of this unsuccessful NATO mission have clearly proven one thing. The form of assistance offered to date has not proved helpful and existing conceptions with respect to political legitimation and roles for the various parties involved have not brought about a sustainable peace. It is time for something new. Afghan women are ready. Are Western politicians ready as well?

Monika Hauser

© TAZ/Qantara.de 2012

Monika Hauser is a gynaecologist and founder of the women’s rights organization medica mondiale. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize. On 19 November, Hauser will be awarded with the North Rhine-Westphalia State Prize.

Qantara.de editor: Lewis Gropp

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading total communications provider, today announced it  won the Best Customer Care Award at the eleventh annual World Communication Awards ceremony, held in London.  Roshan’s victory marks the sixth consecutive year the operator has been recognized by the World Communication Awards.

Roshan’s selection as the winner of the Best Customer Care category of the World Communication Awards is the company’s third such recognition since its Customer Care Division earned the first ISO-9001:2008 certification in September 2011. The certification is the highest level of quality achievement recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

“For an Afghan company to be named the ‘Best in Customer Care’ when competing for this prestigious award against other global telecom brands, is a great testament to the quality of service and dedication to quality of the Roshan employees,” Karim Khoja, Chief Executive Officer, said.

Adding, “Roshan was the first to bring a world-class Customer Care Centre that answers 85 percent of calls within 20 seconds, serves over six million customers and responds to nearly 30,000 calls per day in Dari, Pashto and English throughout Afghanistan.  The Customer Care Center is staffed by highly trained agents and females make up 35 percent of the staff.”

Since 2003 Roshan has committed to being a different kind of company that is respectful of cultural traditions.  As such, Roshan’s female customers also have the option to speak with female agents in Roshan’s Ladies Call Centre.  Female customers can do so by dialing 333 to use the company’s multilingual Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) then select “Ladies Customer Centre” to register.

To learn more about the World Communication Awards visit www.worldcommsawards.com.

About Roshan
Roshan (Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd) is Afghanistan’s leading total communications provider with over six million active subscribers and a network that covers over 230 cities and towns in all of the country’s 34 provinces.

Roshan is a true Afghanistan success story, serving as a catalyst for economic growth and actively contributing to the country’s long-term development. Since its inception nine years ago, Roshan has invested over $550 million in Afghanistan and is the country’s single largest investor and taxpayer, contributing approximately five percent of the Afghan government’s overall domestic revenue. Roshan directly employs more than 1,300 people, 20 percent of whom are women, and provides indirect employment to more than 30,000 people.

Roshan is deeply committed to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a major shareholder of Roshan and promotes private initiatives and building economically sound enterprises in the developing world. Also owned in part by Monaco Telecom International (MTI) and TeliaSonera, Roshan brings international expertise to the country and is committed to the highest standards of network quality and coverage for the people of Afghanistan.

For more on Roshan visit www.roshan.af and/or www.facebook.com/RoshanConnects

Source: Yahoo com

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DUSHANBE, December 3, 2012, Asia-Plus  — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its contractor Tetra Tech ES and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) have allocated grants with the purpose of electrification of the Cross Border Community of Viyod village in the Shugnan Vulusvoli of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IRA).

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The project is expected to promote economic and entrepreneurial development in these areas.

Read article on Asia Plus Tajikistan

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14.12.2012 – UNESCOPRESS

International experts meeting on earthen architecture: its preservation and potential for the future

Forty of the world’s leading experts on earthen architecture—which serves as habitat for up to one third of the world’ population—will exchange experiences about the preservation of this often remarkable and always sustainable heritage in a meeting at UNESCO Headquarters on 17 and 18 December (RoomXI).

The International Colloquium on the Conservation of World Heritage Earthen Architecture is organized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Earthen Architecture Programme (WHEAP) in close cooperation with CRAterre-ENSAG, the International Centre for Earthen Architecture (School of Architecture in Grenoble, France). The first day will feature case studies of earthen architecture in World Heritage cities (Goa, India; Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca, Ecuador; Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco; Djenné, Mali; At-Turaif District in ad-Dir’iyah, Saudi Arabia).  It is worth noting that earthen architecture accounts for 135 sites of the 962 properties currently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Archaeological sites will also be examined during the morning of 17 December (Ruins of Loropéni, Burkina Faso; Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site, El Salvador; Mesa Verde National Park, USA; Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey).

Cultural landscapes will be the subject of presentations and debates in the afternoon session, focusing on Sukur in Nigeria; the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia; cultural landscape in the context of Brazilian World Heritage properties; the Cliff of Bandiagara in Mali and Fujian Tulou, China.

            The particularly topical subject of earthen architecture in armed conflict and post conflict situations will be examined from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with Luis Monreal, General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, who will discuss his organization’s efforts in Afghanistan; and site managers and experts from the Old Town of Ghadamès, Libya; the Ancient City of Damascus, Syria; and Timbuktu, Mali.

The morning of 18 December will be devoted to earthen architecture and natural disasters with presentations from M’Zab Valley, Algeria; the Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin; Bam and its Cultural Landscape, Iran; Chavín de Huántar, Peru; and the Getty Conservation Institute’s Seismic Retrofitting Project.

One session (18 December 11 a.m.) will be devoted to contemporary earthen architecture and the legacy of Hassan Fathy, the Egyptian architect who showed the world that this type of sustainable construction was well suited to modern use.  Presentations will be made by the World Monuments Fund and other leading experts from the USA, Switzerland, Egypt, Italy and France. Finally, presentations on education and promotion will be made by experts from WHEAP, the Iberian-American earthen architecture network PROTERRA, the Algerian Centre of Earthen Architectural Cultural Heritage, CRAterre-ENSAG and the Getty Conservation Institute.

  An exhibition on earthen architecture will be inaugurated at UNESCO as part of the event (17 December, 6 p.m.).  This international experts meeting was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Italy and a contribution from ENSAG / Labex AE&CC.

Source: UNESCO org

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Owing to the continuing war in Afghanistan which began on 7 October 2001, only 3,000 to 4,000 tourists a year visit this beautiful country, including the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

· Minaret of Jam

· Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley.

The Afghan Ministry of Justice Law for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Properties provides the necessary finance and technical resources for the sites.

Minaret of Jam

The 65m-tall minaret is lyrically described by UNESCO as

“a graceful, soaring structure, dating back to the 12th century. Covered in elaborate brickwork with a blue tile inscription at the top, it is noteworthy for the quality of its architecture and decoration, which represent the culmination of an architectural and artistic tradition in this region. Its impact is heightened by its dramatic setting, a deep river valley between towering mountains in the heart of the Ghur province”.

It has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger sites since 2002 and will only be taken off the list when Decision 31 COM 7A.20 is implemented. Monitoring the erosion of the Hari riverbanks adjacent to the Minaret, movement in the level of inclination and measures of stabilisation and conservation measures all have to be carried out.

Jam is believed to have been the summer residence of the Ghurid Emperors, and a mosque used to be beside the minaret.

(…)

Read more on Rambulation com

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Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire joined the Afghan Peace Volunteers and nine other international peace –builders in Kabul, Afghanistan to remember the 2 million victims of war over the past four decades in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Peace Volunteers are very grateful for the friendship and solidarity of Mairead Maguire and the other international peace-builders : Ann Patterson , Ann Wright, John Dear, Linda Sartor, Patrick Kennelly, Emily Malloy, Ellen Kennelly, Chris Jeske, Culley Palmer and Shane Claiborne.

December 10^th was the International Day of Human Rights.

On December 11^th, a ‘2 Million Friends’ event was organized in Kabul, during which the Afghan Peace Volunteers and the international peace-builders, as part of the growing network of ‘2 Million Friends’, delivered a petition to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon through a UN official in Kabul, to ask for a UN-brokered ceasefire by all the warring groups in conflict in Afghanistan.

The video above and transcript below is of the speech which Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire gave during the event.

No more killings! We wish to live without wars.

Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire

at the December 11th ’2 Million Friends’ event in Kabul, Afghanistan

Read more on 2 Million Friends org

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Democracy now org video

On Monday, December 17, Afghan foreign ministry handed over hundreds of historical Kushan-era coins to Afghan National Museum. The coins were basically brought from London, which were taken there by British numismatist David Midwell 40 years ago. There are a total of 215 coins and they are considered as rare Afghan artifacts.

The studies reveal that the Kushan Empire spread in South Asia in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Afghanistan around the Amu River, and later based near Kabul. The Kushans spread from the Kabul River Valley to defeat other Central Asian tribes that had previously conquered parts of the northern central Iranian Plateau, and reached their peak under the Buddhist emperor Kanishka.

Considering the age of the coins, it can be said without any doubt that they are really precious and they will add to the beauty and value of Afghan National Museum. Recently, there have been different endeavors to restore historical Afghan artifacts. Information and Culture Minister Syed Makhdoom Rahin said that many precious artifacts had been smuggled abroad and the museum building destroyed during the civil war. So far, he added, $600,000 (31.4 million afs) had been paid by the US embassy and another $1,000,000 by the Afghan government for rebuilding the museum.

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In one of the most remarkable events for the preservation of national cultural heritage, President Hamid Karzai and Prince Karim Aga Khan officially opened the restored mausoleum of Timur Shah (Timur Shah was the Durrani King who made Kabul the capital of the modern Afghan State) in October, 2012.

The historic monument had fallen into bad condition during decades of civil war. It has now been restored as part of an on-going program undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan. The work inaugurated in 2003 and it included the mausoleum and the rehabilitation of the one hectare park around the building.

Read full article on Outlook Afghanistan Net

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KABUL: Taliban representatives at a conference did not insist on total power in Afghanistan and pledged to grant rights to women that the militant group itself brutally suppressed in the past, according to a Taliban statement received Sunday.

Read full article on Dawn com Pakistan

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22 Jan. 2007

Visit to NATO by the Aga Khan

The Aga Khan visited NATO Headquarters on 22 January 2007 to meet with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

They discussed ways of stepping up support to the Afghanistan government.

The Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam (spiritual and general leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.

The Aga Khan is also founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the largest private development networks in the world and one of the largest private donors in Afghanistan.

NATO is a key component of the international community’s engagement in Afghanistan, assisting the Afghan authorities in providing security and stability, paving the way for reconstruction and effective

View all archive photos -  Credit  NATO Int

Visit to NATO by the Aga Khan

22 January 2007

His Highness Aga Khan

NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer welcomes the Aga Khan upon his arrival at NATO headquarters
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NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer welcomes the Aga Khan upon his arrival at NATO headquarters
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From left to right: the Aga Khan and NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
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The Aga Khan meets with Hendrik Schuwer, Director of the NATO Private Office
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The Aga Khan meets with Joseph Manso, Deputy Director of the NATO Private Office
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Bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Aga Khan
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Bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Aga Khan
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The Aga Khan
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Source: NATO Int.

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