AKTC-Afghanistan Newsletters 18 & 19 on ArchNet July 9, 2009
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Madrasa in Tashqurghan
The two latest issues of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s Afghanistan Newsletter are now available on ArchNet.
The March/April 2009 issue reports on the restoration of a Kabul funerary structure near Bagh-e Babur, a mission to document notable sites in Balkh and Faryab, the reclamation of an urban square in the core of Herat’s old city, and glazed tile-work repair on the Western Tower of Qala Ikhtyaruddin.
The May/June 2009 issue includes an update on restoration efforts at Shanasazi Mosque in Kabul, which appear to reveal a pre-existing mosque on the site with Mughal elements. Accounts of the progress on underground drain repairs in Herat and the beginning of reconstruction efforts on the Mulla Mufti Rasoul Mosque in Herat’s Bar Durrani quarter also appear in this latest issue.
You can view previous issues of the AKTC-Afghanistan newsletters within the ArchNet Digital Library.
Roshan signs Agreement with Afghan Telecom to utilize National Optical Fiber Backbone Ring Network July 6, 2009
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Afghan Telecom and Roshan Jointly Announce the Signing of the Agreement to Utilize National Optical Fiber Backbone Ring Network in Afghanistan
KABUL, July 6 /PRNewswire/ — Afghan Telecom (AT) Afghanistan’s first long distance domestic private leased circuit (DPLC) and international private leased circuit (IPLC) provider through Optical Fiber Cable (OFC), today announced a significant agreement with Roshan to sell the transmission capacity of its National OFC Backbone Ring Network. The OFC, constructed by AT, will complement Roshan’s existing infrastructure, enabling Roshan to ensure the redundancy of its network and provide additional capacity for its growing number of subscribers.
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“This is an important milestone for the development of Afghanistan and the telecommunications industry. We are extremely pleased that Roshan is the first GSM operator to be entering into a commercial partnership with Afghan Telecom for fiber capacity,” said His Excellency Amirzai Sangin, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
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“We declared our interest in, and support for, the OFC project over four years ago and we are proud to be able to express our long term commitment to Afghanistan by being Afghan Telecom’s first major anchor tenant. We believe that this project can have a significant impact on the information and telecommunications sector in Afghanistan, ensuring the availability of competitively priced capacity and infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the industry. We look forward to strengthening our relationship and cooperation with AT in the years to come,” said Karim Khoja, chief executive officer, Roshan.
Read at source: http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/07-06-2009/0005055105&EDATE=
AKDN funded Bamiyan tourism training program underway July 3, 2009
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In this photo taken Wednesday, June 17, 2009, people walk past the cliffs that once held giant Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan. In an attempt to return one small part of the country to normalcy government officials and international donors are promoting tourism to attract visitors to the Bamiyan area. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
HEIDI VOGT | The Associated Press
BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — There’s a new building in town, and it isn’t a military barracks or a hospital. It’s a Tourist Information Center.
Even as troops fight militants in the south, government officials and donors in Afghanistan’s central Bamiyan valley are training tour guides and teaching restaurateurs about customer service. It’s an attempt to draw tourism and return one small part of Afghanistan to normalcy.
The challenges are many — landmines, dangerous roads outside Bamiyan, and, not least, Afghanistan’s reputation as anything but a tourist haven. But the hope is to persuade history buffs and adventure seekers that Afghanistan can be safe, and locals are eager to give it a shot.
The tourism training program is funded through a Geneva-based Islamic organization, the Aga Khan Development Network, as part of a $1.2-million ecotourism program.All Afghan tourism initiatives are currently funded by international donors, according to Deputy Minister for Tourism Ghulam Nabi Farahi.
Read at source: http://www.amherstdaily.com/index.cfm?sid=266006&sc=510
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap
http://www.metronews.ca/edmonton/world
Rebuilding of Buddha statue begins in Bamiyan with the support of Aga Khan Foundation June 26, 2009
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The work for the reconstruction of one of the two giant Buddhas, destroyed in Taliban regime, has begun in Afghanistan’s central Bamiyan province, Director of Cultural Department of the province Najibullah Ahrar said on Thursday.
“After about one year’s feasibility studies, the work for the restructuring of smaller Buddha formally commenced with the support of Agha Khan Foundation on Tuesday,” he told Xinhua.
Ahrar added that a German company was carrying out the reconstruction process.
Taliban fanatic militants had dynamited the world’s cultural heritage, the 53-metre and 35-metre giant Buddhas, in March 2001. Rebuilding both the statues requires $100 million.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/06/26/stories/2009062651030900.htm
AKTC restores Jewish sites in Afghanistan June 24, 2009
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Muslim trust restores Jewish sites in Afghanistan
Posted by: Tom Heneghan | June 24th, 2009
Amid the glum news from Afghanistan, Golnar Motevalli of our Kabul bureau has sent this from Herat:
Behind a parade of old mud brick shops, through narrow winding alleys, a tiny door opens onto a sundrenched courtyard, where school children giggle and play alongside the ghosts of Afghanistan’s Jewish past.
The Yu Aw is one of four synagogues in the old quarter of Herat city in west Afghanistan, which after decades of abandonment and neglect, has been restored to provide desperately-needed space for an infant school.”
(Photo: Afghan children study in Yu Aw synagogue in Herat, 8 June 2009/Mohammad Shoiab)
The restoration work has been done by the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. The city’s three other former synagogues are also being restored. Read the feature here.
Read at source: http://blogs.reuters.com/archive/tag/agha-khan/
View slideshow at: http://uk.reuters.com/news/pictures/articleslideshow?articleId=UKTRE55N01P20090624&channelName=lifestyleMolt#a=1
Arif Lalani appointed as Director General for Policy Planning at Fort Pearson June 24, 2009
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New Afghan Team, New Afghan Tasks
Excerpts:
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For the past three years, there have been a many civilian personalities deeply intertwined with Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. Chief among them was David Mulroney, formerly Canada’s top bureaucrat on the file, and Canada’s next ambassador to China.
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Other up-and-comers also soon joined the file, including former ambassador to Afghanistan Arif Lalani and his successor current ambassador Ron Hoffman.
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Mr. Lalani will take over the influential post of director general for policy planning at Fort Pearson.
Read at source: http://www.embassymag.ca/page/view/new_afghan-6-24-2009
‘Fort Pearson’ refers to the Lester B. Pearson building. It is home to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (next door to the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat). Additional information available in article A look inside the enigmatic ‘Fort Pearson’ by Maria Cook, Ottawa Citizen.
French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC) in Kabul gets WHO membership June 12, 2009
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This institute was established in Kabul in 2006 and has done about 200 complex heart operations on the children with heart problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a UN agency that is globally tasked by the UN system to enhance health status of the member countries. Dr. Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatimie the Minister of Public Health attended the awrding ceremony of WHO membership certificate to FMIC on Thursday 28 May 2009.
Dr. Fatimie in his speech said that: I am proud of participating in this ceremony of awarding WHO membership certificate to the FMIC. This event is not only a pride for 435 health personnel of the institute but it is also a pride for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, MoPH, French government and the Agh Khan Foundation. Dr. Fatimie added that the president of Afghanistan and the leadership of the MoPH emphasize on the continuation of cooperation with this institute. The institute has a sound and active administration and provides quality health care. This success was undoubtedly possible because of support from our friends in France and Agha Khan Foundation. According to the policy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan these health services will be delivered to the needy people in an equitable manner.
Social Audits in Afghanistan: Making Local Governance More Transparent | AKDN blog June 9, 2009
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Posted on June 8, 2009 Please also see: Slideshow
People began gathering in mid-morning after the men and women had finished their early morning chores. The entire village of Kalan Guzar turned out for the meeting which was held in a big compound next to the school and the clinic. The men and boys, wearing woollen hats and turbans, sat cross-legged on carpets spread on the ground. The women and girls sat on a raised area just behind them – little girls, mothers and grandmothers, some completely veiled, others wearing simple headscarfs. Beyond the compound walls, the morning sun illuminated the barren purple crags of the mountains which hem in this narrow valley of the central Hindu Kush. In the other direction, a dusty path led down to the “Big Ford” across the Shikari River, after which Kalan Guzar is named.
Shrine in Kabul’s Old Town June 7, 2009
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Jali screen in a shrine in Kabul’s old town – restored by the Aga Khan Foundation
Roshan Announces Expansion of Afghanistan’s First Telemedicine Project to Bamyan Region June 1, 2009
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Roshan, Cisco, the Government of Afghanistan, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, the French Medical Institute for Children, Aga Khan Health Services and the Bamyan Provincial Hospital Team up to Expand Healthcare Access by Linking Afghan Hospitals to International Medical Institutions
KABUL and BAMYAN, Afghanistan, June 1 /PRNewswire/ — Roshan, the leading telecom operator in Afghanistan, today announced the expansion of its first-of-its-kind Telemedicine solution in Afghanistan beyond Kabul to include provincial hospitals. Bamyan Provincial Hospital will be the first provincial medical facility linked to the innovative Telemedicine project, which uses broadband technology, wireless video conferencing and digital image transfer, to provide hospitals in Afghanistan with real-time access to specialist healthcare diagnosis, treatment and training expertise from abroad.
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“After the launch and initial success of Telemedicine in Kabul, we are delighted to begin extending Telemedicine links to provincial hospitals in Afghanistan, where the need for access to quality specialist diagnosis and training is even greater,” said Karim Khoja, Chief Executive Officer of Roshan. “Telemedicine further demonstrates the power of wireless technology to improve people’s lives and expand the healthcare resources available to the people of Afghanistan.”
Details at the source: http://news.prnewswire.com
Earlier related
Rebuilding Afghanistan’s shattered health system: The Aga Khan Development Network May 26, 2009
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Presentation by Karima Velji – Ethical perspectives — Nursing Project in Afghanistan May 23, 2009
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15 October 2008 – Ethical perspectives – Nursing Project in Afghanistan, by Karima Velji, RN, PhD, CHE
The Unspoken Outcomes of War – AKU Newsletter – Spring 2009 May 16, 2009
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The Unspoken Outcomes of War
Do prolonged conflicts with extreme violence and loss affect ordinary people? War is recognised to take its toll on the mental health of soldiers and now, increasingly, on civilians…. [read PDF]
French Minister Pledges 9m Euro for Afghanistan, Aga Khan Foundation will contribute the remaining 9m May 15, 2009
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French Foreign Minister in a surprise visit to Kabul reaffirmed the commitment of France in the reconstruction of Afghanistan
Talking to his Afghan counterpart, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, French Foreign Minster said the donations will be driven to improve health services in the country.
“The money will be spent to provide more facilities to the French Medical Institute for Children in Kabul,” Foreign Minster Bernard Kouchner said.
The French hospital in Kabul is one of most well-equipped with professional medical team hospitals providing free treatment to needy Afghan citizens.
The officials of the healthcare centre said 18 million Euros are needed to expand the hospital and develop it to a 400-bed health centre.
“Aga Khan Foundation will contribute the remaining 9 million Euros to complete the second phase of the hospital,” Nadim Khan, an Aga Khan Development Network AKDN official, accompanying French FM in the hospital said.
via quqnoos.com – French Minister Pledges 9m Euro for Afghanistan.
Afghanistan seeks to revive tourism industry | Gulf News May 5, 2009
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By Arno Maierbrugger, Staff Reporter – Published: May 04, 2009, 22:44
Dubai: After decades of war, Afghanistan makes another step towards normality and looks to revive its tourism industry.
With the help of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Afghanistan’s first national park Band-e-Amir was opened in Bamyan province last week.
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A local institution was founded to manage the area which covers 56.000 hectares. With the help of the WCS as well as the global environmental consultancy Ecodit and the Aga Khan Development Network, local small businesses are beginning to emerge in the 13 villages that are located within the park and small shops, restaurants, hotels and a campground are being built to serve the expected growing number of visitors.
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Tourism_and_Travel/10310644.html – Related search
Band-e-Amir – Afghanistan’s first national park | VOA News May 2, 2009
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30 April 2009
Afghanistan has taken an important step in protecting its wildlife and preserving the beauty of its natural environment. In celebration of Earth Day 2009, the Director General of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency, Mostapha Zaher, declared Band-e-Amir as Afghanistan’s first national park.
The official designation affords legal protection to the lakes and surrounding landscape and will ensure sustainable environmental management for this scenic area.
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With help from USAID and its implementing partners, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Ecodit (an international environmental consulting company), and the Agha Khan network (a group of development agencies), local entrepreneurs are already building small shops, restaurants, and hotels – in accordance with the park’s environmental management plan – to serve the growing number of tourists.
via VOA News – National Park In Afghanistan – Earlier Related
Afghan ‘Class of 2009′ Gets Ready at RoCK Talk April 29, 2009
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The government’s top players on the Afghan file put their heads together last week at the third edition of RoCK Talk, a forum that just keeps on growing.
Whereas the first RoCK Talk (named for the Representative of Canada in Kandahar) was a modest 20-person affair in Kandahar City, this edition attracted some 150 officials from across government.
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Also on hand were folks like Canadian Ambassador to Pakistan Randolph Mank and Canada’s number two in Kabul Ben Roswell, as well as some civil society types like Aga Khan Foundation Canada CEO Khalil Shariff. In fact, the only obvious absence was Ambassador to Afghanistan Ron Hoffman—but then somebody has to man the fort.
The main focus of the meeting was to bring the “Class of 2009″—the Canadian civilians that will be deploying to Afghanistan this summer—up to speed.
Dam of Awe to be Afghan national park | Guardian UK April 23, 2009
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–excerpt–
A first significant step was taken yesterday when Afghanistan declared that one of its most astonishing natural features will become the country’s first national park – 36 years after a previous attempt to do so was interrupted by political strife and decades of war.
Few people would deny that the crystal-clear lakes in the country’s mountainous centre, which are ringed with pink cliffs, deserve their new designation, which still needs to be ratified by parliament.
Nancy Hatch Dupree, in her classic 1970 guide to Afghanistan, wrote that a full description of such a place would “rob the uninitiated of the wonder and amazement it produces on all who gaze upon it”.
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Amir Folabi, head of eco-tourism in Bamiyan for the Aga Khan Foundation, said the eco-tourism initiative was not intended to cater for a sudden increase in foreign tourists but to lay the ground work for sustainable tourism in the future.
Article at Guardian. There are few photographs here, and here.
USAID Helps Establish First National Park in Afghanistan – USAID Press Release
Clean and green: Renewable energy for Afghanistan April 22, 2009
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Posted on 17/04/2009 by Ian MacWilliam
Source: Afghan Update (UNAMA quarterly magazine)
The district of Surkh-e-Parsa lies at the upper end of the Ghorband Valley, not far from where the road begins to climb the bare hills to the Shibar Pass. Three green valleys converge at the district centre of Lolinj. The local people grow wheat and tend their fruit trees, but they have always been poor. For them, even before the war, the notion of electricity was a distant dream. The nearest government hydropower station was in Siahgird, far down the valley, and that was destroyed many years ago. For the people of these valleys, when the sun set, the day ended and they had little choice but to settle down for the night.
But in recent years, all that has changed. About seventy per cent of households in the three valleys – home to some 30,000 people — now have electricity. Now there is light to allow children to study and people can continue their lives after sunset. The electricity runs flour mills, charges mobile phones and powers satellite television, which brings news of the outside world into this distant corner of Afghanistan. During the day it can also run washing machines and other labour-saving household devices.
via ReliefWeb » Document » Clean and green: Renewable energy for Afghanistan.
Afghan Exhibit Brings to Texas Recently Rediscovered Gold, Artifacts April 13, 2009
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Here is a related video report.
A traveling exhibit of precious art works from Afghanistan is currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, where it will remain until May 17. The exhibit, called “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul,” was organized by the National Geographic Society in cooperation with officials from Afghanistan.
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One of the recent visitors to the museum in Houston was guest lecturer Ajmal Maiwandi, of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which is supporting restoration projects in Afghanistan. “I think in a multicultural, multireligious society like Afghanistan,” he says, “culture is what binds people together.”
In his lecture, Maiwandi described the progress that has been made in restoring sites like Baghe Babur in Kabul.
He says preservation of historic sites must be accompanied by social projects to help the people who live nearby. “Living conditions have to be improved in order that the sense of ownership is transferred on to that community,” he asked, “Who will then look after those projects? Down the line, one hopes that this exhibit can make it to Afghanistan and tour some of the cities of Afghanistan, where I think it is very important for people to realize their shared history and understand the depth and scope of the civilization.”
