Protecting Heritage to Build Peace: ALIPH's Projects in Afghanistan

Protecting Heritage to Build Peace ALIPH in Afghanistan March 2021 Photo (c) AKDC-A Bala Hissar Citadel, Kabul

ALIPH in Afghanistan Afghanistan's exceptional tangible and intangible cultural heritage traces a remarkable history and diversity of people, cultures, and religions. However, this heritage has suffered from terrorism, wars, and instability. Protecting it means that jobs are generated, economic and social development can flourish, and tourism may begin again. It also opens a path for dialogue, reconciliation, and peace building.

ALIPH was created in March 2017, after the massive destruction of cultural heritage in the Sahel Region and the Middle East. Afghanistan is therefore a priority country for the Swiss foundation. Today, ALIPH is supporting 12 projects totaling 6.6 million USD in Afghanistan alone. These initiatives were selected following calls for projects, or they are emergency measures taken to protect cultural heritage in imminent peril. ALIPH also supported local cultural heritage actors overcome the coronavirus pandemic through the COVID-19 Action Plan it launched in spring 2020.

The project to rehabilitate the Bala Hissar Citadel is ALIPH's largest project to date and exemplifies the Foundation's approach: a concrete project that is generating economic opportunities for local residents, not just during the rehabilitation but also after completion, when the Citadel will open as a public park and tourist site.

ALIPH has been operational for 30 months and is now supporting more than 100 projects in 22 countries for a total commitment of over 35 million USD. Nearly 20 percent of this sum is allocated to projects in Afghanistan, bearing witness to the scope of the foundation's commitment to protect the great richness of this country's cultural heritage.

5 Priorities Protecting Monuments and Sites Safeguarding Museums and their Collections Documenting and Interconnecting Heritage Fighting Looting and Illicit Trafficking Protecting Intangible Heritage

CALLS FOR PROJECTS 9 Projects

Photo (c) Turquoise Mountain

Safeguarding the Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam

COUNTRY: Shahrak District, Ghor

Province, Afghanistan GRANT AMOUNT: $1,921,888 PROJECT DATES: 2020-2022 OPERATOR: UNESCO in cooperation with the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture

The minaret of J am (Late 12th century CE), located in a remote region of Gur province and surrounded by rocky backdrops, is famous for its intricate glazed tile decoration. The minaret and the surrounding archaeological site were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in 2002. They are threatened by conflict, looting, annual flash floods, decay of building materials, and lack of conservation. The goal of this project is to undertake the conservation of the roof and the inner wooden staircase of the Minaret, install a system to monitor the building's stability, and propose an overall conservation plan for the monument. The project provides on-the-job training for local professionals from national and regional heritage institutions and universities.

Conservation of Buddhist-era Built Heritage

COUNTRY: Shewaki, Kabul Province, Afghanistan GRANT AM0UNT: $868,410

PR0JECT DATES: 2020-2021 OPERAT0R: Afghan Cultural Heritage Consulting Organisation (ACHCO)

The stupa at Shewaki, 10 kilometers north of Kabul, dates from 1st-3rd century CE and forms part of a religious route that Buddhist pilgrims took from the lndian Lowlands to Bamiyan. The goal of this project is to document the site, stabilize the structure, and partially reconstruct the monument. The project, Led by a local organization, provides on-the-job training and employment opportunities to local people.

EMERGENCY RELIEF 2 Projects

Photo (c) Turquoise Mountain Murad Khani Neighbourhood, Kabul

COVID-19 PROJECTS 1 Project

Photo (c) National Museum of Afghanistan

Valéry Freland Executive Director valery.freland@aliph-foundation.org +41 79 897 49 09

Sandra Bialystok Communications and Media sandra.bialystok@aliph-foundation.org +41 79 897 48 89

Photos Top: Buddhist stupa at Shewaki (c) ACHCO Middle: A woman weaving a kilim (c) Turquoise Mountain Bottom: Two men in the Muard Khani neighbourhood, Kabul (c) Turquoise Mountain