Afghanistan is a diverse nation,

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1 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 8- April 2011 On this issue: Learning to fight marginalization and exclusion Page 2 Improving livelihood through skill training Page 3 10 years after the destruction Page 4 & 5 A new lease of life- the National Museum of Afghanistan Page 6 The Afghan new year and wishes Page 7 Focusing on forgotten wealth Afghanistan is a diverse nation, holding distinguished diversity from ethnicity, religious sects, and tradition to language. According to the current statistics, more than 33 languages are being spoken across the country and some of them are in very critical threat of going extinct. The International Mother Language Day, 21 February, provided a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of conserving minority languages in Afghanistan and their role in maintaining social cohesion and unity in the country. The diversity, in language and other forms, in the Afghan society remains a unique position for dialogue and cooperation. UNESCO in Afghanistan works to promote the notion of diversity as a platform of strength for comprehensive development. Afghanistan needs diversity and should be proud of its complex social fabric. We work with the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture and Ministry of Education to support the development of policies Preamble to UNESCO constitution: which are inclusive of all languages, ideas, and backgrounds. To achieve this goal, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education jointly held the first national conference on Inclusive and Child-Friendly Education and with the Ministry of Information and Culture organized the International Conference on Safeguarding the Cultural Heritage in October of last year. Such activities pave the way to reflecting on the wealth and potentials in the country, such as cultural heritage and rich diversity as well as importance of mother tongue education. Shigeru Aoyagi UNESCO Kabul Director A peace based exclusively upon the political and economic arrangements of governments would not be a peace which could secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the world, and that the peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind. mapcruzine/online

2 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 8 April 2011 Education Available data indicates that almost half of the school age children in Afghanistan are out of school. The situation is even worse for around the more than 10% of Afghan children under the age of 18 who have a disability often caused by poverty, conflict and war. Amanullah, who is 12 years old, is one of the many children in Afghanistan who has Attention Deficit-Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), a birth disorder which affects his communication skills and ability to concentrate and learn at the same pace as his siblings and peers. His parents were reluctant to send him to school, as they were concerned that Amanullah might create problems for the other children in his class; the same concern was also raised by the local school principal they talked to last year. Amanullah is now going to the same school that rejected him last year. The school is now supported by the Inclusive and Child- Friendly Education Programme, an initiative implemented by the Afghan Ministry of Education with technical and financial support from UNESCO, UNICEF Learning to Fight Marginalization and Exclusion Amanullah in the classroom and MACCA. This initiative supports the inclusion of children like Amanullah and other girls and boys who are vulnerable to exclusion and marginalization from and within education. More than 400 children with disabilities are now enrolled in regular schools where they play and learn with their peers. Ms. Shinkai, who has received training on inclusive education, is Amanullah s teacher. She believes that Amanullah has improved significantly both in learning and in interaction with others, both children and adults. During the first days, Amanullah was being load and disrupting the others, now he has learnt to follow the rules of Shinkai, in Amanullah s home, after school, to help him with his studies. the class and participate in group work just like the other students, Shinkai says. Sometimes during the session I ask him to go to one of the other department in the school and bring me something. This kind of activity helps him to release some of his energy, and makes him feel useful, he gains self-confidence and he has more concentration for the rest of the lesson. Shinkai usually visits Amanullah s home and talks with his parents on how to interact with him. She helps Amanullah with his lessons so that he can catch up with his friends in class. He has successfully finished the first class with passing grades and his parents and Karima will help him to continue on this successful track for the years to come. The Inclusive and Child-Friendly Education programme which was launched in 2008 is so far covering 29 schools in Kabul. The Ministry of Education is planning to expand the programme, with support of its national and international partners to cover schools throughout Afghanistan during the next four years. Page 2

3 Page 3 April 2011 Issue No 8 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter In conflict-affected countries such as Afghanistan, literacy acquisition can play a significant role in rehabilitation, particularly when linked with peace-building, empowerment and livelihood skills training. This is why the Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA) programme has added a skills development component following the initial 9-month literacy class. With reliable income sources, participants and their communities can benefit from more secure and sustainable livelihoods. Over 3000 neo-literate youth aged 15 to 24 in nine provinces who graduated from ELA s literacy classes can take part in skills development training in areas such as carpentry, agricultural training, wool processing, tailoring, knitting, animal husbandry, etc. The training offered is based on market demand, community needs, trainees preferences and training duration. Subjects cover not only traditional vocational UNESCO Improving Livelihoods Through Skills Training Fatima (center) in the tailoring class training subjects, but also agriculture and animal husbandry, which will improve the beneficiaries management of their current farming enterprises and their income. Male beneficiaries are usually trained as apprentices in existing workshops, while women for cultural reasons are trained in a sheltered location, in small groups. By equipping the marginalized young population with educational and productive skills, the programme hopes to contribute to their reintegration into society, thereby fostering their resilience and potential in sustainable and peaceful nation-building in Afghanistan. Fatima is a 33 year old neoliterate woman who lives in the Bamyan province and has completed UNESCO s ELA literacy programme. After graduating from the nine-month programme, she was introduced to vocational training in tailoring in early Fatima explains that because there was no tailor in their village, Education when they wanted to have clothes made, they had to travel to Bamyan city and spend 150Afs (USD3) only for transportation. Sometimes the transport cost was more than the cost of the clothes themselves, she says. She had no idea about measuring the size for each family member and it was expensive to take all family members to city for measurements. Therefore the orders were mostly based on the approximate age or height of each family member and the results were not what Fatima s family expected from the tailor. After receiving tailoring training for 6 months, things have changed dramatically for her family as well as her village. I am sewing clothes for my family and myself according to the choice, villagers started to ask for tailoring services and I have daily orders from the villagers. Currently she has an average income of 1500Afs (USD33) per month. She uses her income to better take care of her family and children. She has saved so far 5000Afs (USD111) from her income. She plans to purchase raw materials (buttons, Layee, thread, etc.) for her tailoring work. I am grateful of the donor s support in creating positive changes in my life, making my life more successful. She acknowledges.

4 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 8 April 2011 Culture March 2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the two giant Buddha sculptures in Bamiyan, as well as the iconoclasm that took place in the National Museum in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan. In the face of an international outcry, intense lobbying and pleas from the international community from late February to early March, the statues were finally destroyed on March 8th and 9th, Despite this loss, the Bamiyan Valley still remains an important cultural landscape set against a magnificent natural backdrop. Ms. Habiba Sarabi, Governor of Bamiyan, believes that although the Buddha statues destruction was a blow to the region s history she is, however, hopeful for the future, Though the Taliban regime destroyed the statues, the Bamiyan Valley continues to represent the glory of the past and inspires peace in other parts of the country 10 Years After Destruction she says. Since 2001, the Afghan Government, UNESCO and our international partners have come together in a combined effort to safeguard the remains of this invaluable example of Afghan heritage. In 2003, the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and simultaneously placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Since then, thanks to generous grants through the UNESCO - Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage, UNESCO has undertaken three phases of a major project for the safeguarding of the property. This also includes 8 sites in a serial nomination that preserves elements of Outstanding Universal Value from both the Buddhist and Islamic periods in Afghanistan. Substantial progress has been made since 2003, notably in relation to the considerable improvement of the state of preservation of the site of the Buddha Cliffs which encompasses the remains of the sculptures and Buddha niches and a vast monastery composed of labyrinthine rooms and caves cut into the cliff, says Mr. Brendan Cassar, UNESCO Kabul Culture Programme Specialist. The Eastern Buddha niche has now been saved from imminent collapse whilst land mines and battlefield detritus have also been cleared throughout the valley, training programmes have been initiated to improve national capacity for the conservation of cultural heritage, and a basis for the inception of cultural tourism in Bamiyan has been created. However, more work needs to be undertaken on emergency measures to safeguard many more sites in Bamiyan and to ensure the sustainability of the heritage values for which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Further technical interventions are also required to ensure the continued preservation of the site and in order to remove it from Bamiyan valley Mahdi Mohammadi Page 4

5 April 2011 Issue No 8 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Culture UNESCO Page 5 Archeological remains in Bamiyan valley the List in Danger. This year, the 9thBamiyan Expert Working Group took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and was preceded by the International Forum Towards Cultural Rapprochement and Tolerance, reaffirming the vitality of cultural heritage and its tremendous potential to bring together cultures and promote tolerance. This provided the opportunity forthe Afghan Government and UNESCO to commemorate the destruction of the Buddha statues in a solemn manner, but also to encourage a positive outlook for the future of the World Heritage property and for the sustainable development of the Bamiyan Valley in general. At the subsequent working group international experts and Afghan officials - including the Minister of Information and Culture, the Minister for Urban Development and the Governor of the Bamiyan Valley agreed to launch a new phase to safeguard the property with a number of suggestions and recommendations proposed. A total reconstruction of either Buddha sculptures is not to be considered for the moment in view of the scientific data presently available. However, the larger western niche will be consolidated and left empty as a testimony of to the violence that occurred and a feasibility study may be undertaken to determine whether or not a partial reassembling of fragments of the eastern Buddha could be a future option. It was also recognised that there is an urgent need to construct a central museum in Bamiyan in addition to smaller site museums within the landscape. Work also needs to be pursued to safeguard and preserve the entire cultural landscape of Bamiyan Valley with due regard for to all the archaeological and architectural components necessary for the future development of Bamiyan, undertaken in conjunction with the completion of the cultural master plan in close collaboration with the local authorities. The 2011 Expert Working Group meeting concluded that the World Heritage site might potentially ready to be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger by Despite the tragic event that occurred in Bamiyan, it is clear that 10 years later, the international community, the Afghan Government and the people of Bamiyan remain highly motivated to safeguard and rehabilitate the cultural heritage in the Valley and are also very optimistic concerning the ongoing success of cultural development in the province. True, we missed a lot 10 years ago, says GhulamSakhi, a resident of Bamiyan, But there is a positive point, too, and that is the international community is supporting us to retrieve the fame of the Bamiyan Valley. UNESCO

6 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 8 April 2011 Culture A New Lease of Life The National Museum of Afghanistan Mr. Masoudi, Director of Kabul National Museum Cultural heritage, like many very difficult times of the 1990 s other aspects of Afghan society, has been severely affected by the ongoing process of reconstruc- and also since 2001 assisting in the many turbulent years of unrest tion and preservation. His worst and is only now entering a new, memory is still of the civil war more positive phase. when the museum was extensively The country s national museum, looted and much of the building once among the richest in the was damaged or had collapsed. region, lost approximately 70% It was 12 May, 1993 and I of its collection during the 1990 s heard on the radio that Kabul museum was ablaze, but I just could and the building was in a ruinous state as a result of inter-factional not do anything. It was in the fighting. Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the Afghan ling from one corner of the city to middle of the civil war and travel- Government in conjunction with the other, was impossible recalls UNESCO and the International Mr. Masoudi. Community as a whole have been The National museum, according to Mr. Masoudi, represents a working to rebuild this iconic monument, a symbol of Afghanistan s unique history. point for Afghanistan s rich his- national and international focal Mr. Masoudi, Director of the tory and passionately believes it is museum since the fall of the of the utmost importance to both Taliban regime, has worked at the protect and preserve the museum museum over the past 32 years which in turn will help safeguard including pre-1979, during the Afghanistan s cultural heritage. That s why the slogan at the museum entrance reads,a nation stays alive, as long as its culture stays alive, Mr. Masoudi stresses. One of the first phases of UNESCO s assistance to the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture concerned the rehabilitation of the museum. Through various projects funded by different donors, UNESCO assisted the Ministry in rebuilding the damaged fabric of the museum. In order to also raise the capacity of the museum staff, numerous specialist workshops were also undertaken, enabling them to work more effectively and professionally within a modern museum environment. Another main concern for the Kabul museum has been the drive to retrieve many of the unique artifacts looted over the last 20 years of disruption. According to Mr. Masoudi, to date the Afghan Government has managed to locate and re-acquire circa 10% of artifacts trafficked to other countries during the civil war and this program is ongoing with the support of ICOMOS, UNESCO and other International organizations. The future of the museum looks considerably brighter than even a few short years ago, and initiatives such as the new temporary MesAinak exhibition, (showcasing artifacts professionally excavated by the Ministry of Information and Culture from one of Afghanistan s most significant Buddhist archaeological sites), serves to establish once more the National Museum s reputation as being of both regional and international significance. Page 6

7 April 2011 Issue No 8 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter The Afghan New Year Social 21st of March is the first day of Afghan New Year. The day is celebrated in Afghanistan with ceremonies such as preparing special foods, visiting relatives, horse riding and playing kites. The New Year which is celebrated in other countries in the region, too, was officially inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in Chris Khun Ghezal Haress UNAMA/P. Faschingeder Captions: Above left: New Year celebration in Bamiyan. Above middle: Tulip flower is the symbol of New Year, especially in the northrn region, where tulips are grown a lot in the spring season. Above right: New Year celebration in Mazar, northern Afghanistan. Right: Horse competition or bozkashi is a traditional Afghan sport, mostly played in the New Year Day. UNAMA/Fardin Vaezi What do Afghans wish for the new year? Mostafa, 12- student. I wish in the new year, I can continue my education. I am going to the sixth grade and the school is very far away from our village. I have to walk for 2 hours everyday to go to school. I also have to help my father on land, if there is too much work, maybe my father doesn t allow me to study. Also I wish we have good teacher and text book. More importantly, I wish that we move from the tent in our school into a classroom. Karima, 40- School teacher In this new year, I try to help my students to better study. I will try to have more interactions with the parents of my student and involve them in the education process. There are many school closed because of insecurity around the country, I hope that in the new year, those school be re-opened. Mosa Rahimi- 29- University student In the new, my main focus will be on my studying a the university. I am studying finance and in this new year, I want to have a good understanding of fianance. A pre-condition for my studying as well as all other students in Afghanistan is security. I wish that the security gets better in the new year. It is not possible to pursue my studying while there is no security. Page 7

8 Afghan LIFE website launched The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) seeks to empower people, especially rural women and girls, who have inadequate literacy skills and competencies to fully participate in society. As a leading agency of LIFE, UNESCO Kabul in collaboration with the Literacy Department and LIFE partners in Afghanistan has launched the new LIFE Afghanistan website: New publication The LIFE website is in English, Dari, and Pashto. It serves as the onestop place for information on literacy in Afghanistan. Major activities from LIFE partners to promote literacy learning, news and documents on literacy can be found on the website. Come back often for exciting updates! The compendium is a collection of educational documents. The compendium provides basic access for Afghan educational officials and education activists to the education process in other parts of the world. The document will be shortly translated in to Dari and Pashto languages. Upcoming events: Global Action Week and National Launch of EFA Global Monitoring Report in Afghanistan 4 May 2011 World Press Freedom Day celebration 03 May 2011 UNESCO Kabul is working along the Afghan Government to promote peace through culture, quality education, and communication and information. We are working to nurture peace in the minds of people. Please share your feedbacks and comments to: Mohammad Amin Sadiqi-Editor and Public Information Officer a.sadiqi@unesco.org Telephone: +93 (0) Website: