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Awards
Received by the Agencies of the
Aga Khan Development Network
AKDN
agencies have won a number of awards for their work in a variety of disciplines, from historic
preservation to water and sanitation. The following awards
represent just a few of the awards received by AKDN agencies
and programmes in recent years.
First
MicroFinance Bank Client Wins 2007 "Best Micro-Entrepreneur"
Award
The
First MicroFinance Bank’s client, Ms. Sifat Gul from
Gharam Chashma, Chitral won the “Best National Micro-Entrepreneur
Award Female” at the recently organised Citi-PPAF
Micro-entrepreneurship Awards 2007 ceremony in Islamabad.
Dr. Ishrat Hussain, former Governor State Bank of Pakistan
was the Chief Guest for the occasion where Sifat Gul was
awarded a cash prize of Rs. 115,000. The objective of the
Citi-PPAF Micro-entrepreneurship Awards Programme 2007 is
to illustrate and promote the effective role that micro-finance
plays in poverty alleviation. It recognises the extraordinary
contributions that individual micro-entrepreneurs have made
to the economic sustainability of their families as well
as their communities. For mor information, please see the
press release.
Music
Initiative Receives 2007 Award for Cultural Preservation
The Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, a programme
of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, received an Honourable
Mention in the 2007 Travel + Liesure Global Innovation
Awards. From the citation: "Recognizing the vital role
music has played in the cultures of Central Eurasia and
the Middle East, and fearing its increasing fragility in
the face of rapid modernization throughout the region, the
Aga Khan Trust for Culture established the Aga Khan Music
Initiative in Central Asia in 2000. By setting up music
schools throughout the region and supporting a worldwide
touring program, the trust aims to preserve Central Asia’s
musical heritage by ensuring its transmission to a new generation
of artists and audiences—both inside the region and
beyond its borders." For more information, please see
the
Travel + Liesure website.
AKTC
Receives TIME Magazine's "Best of Asia" Award
for Revitalisation of Bagh-e Babur
in Kabul, Afghanistan
 |
| Babur's
Garden in Kabul is part of a much larger
AKTC programme of revitalisation that encompasses
the restoration of the mausoleum of Timur Shah and
the rehabilitation of many historic buildings in
Asheqan wa Arefan.
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Following
the 2005 Best of Asia award for restoration of the Baltit
Fort in Hunza, Pakistan (the Fort graced the cover of TIME
Asia), the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has now been awarded
another Best of Asia award for its restoration of Babur's
Gardens in Kabul, Afghanistan. From the citation: "When
the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, in collaboration with the
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, began to restore
the gardens in 2002, they decided to honor Babur's original
instructions. His grave now lies open to the sky, encircled
by a delicate, carved marble screen and surrounded by fruit
trees full of songbirds. The rest of the 4.5-hectare garden,
which once served as a temporary refuge for civilians displaced
by war, has been returned to its former glory. The complex
system of water canals that channel rainfall from the surrounding
hills has been rebuilt, turning the sere hillside into a
verdant oasis. Graceful saplings have replaced the great
chinar trees that were felled for firewood, and the fountains
burble once again with clean water. There are even plans
to turn the elegant European pavilion built by Amir Abdur
Rahman Khan in the late 1800s into a restaurant. On Fridays,
the start of the Muslim weekend, the gardens are thronged
with picnicking families who come to enjoy classical concerts
much like the performances that enhanced the former Emperor's
idylls. Finally, one can see why Babur wanted this to be
his last resting place." For more information, please
see TIME
magazine's site.
AKPBS Receives World Habitat Award for 2006
The
Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS,
P) has received the World Habitat Award 2006 for its efforts
to improve housing conditions in Pakistan through its Building
and Construction Improvement Programme (BACIP). The programme
has developed low-cost, seismic-resistant, energy and resource-efficient
housing construction methods and standards. Over 15,000
fuel-efficient products have been installed in 7,000 households
to date, benefiting more than 50,000 people. BACIP has been
listed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Global
Environmental Facility (GEF)/ Small Grants Programme (SGP)
as Best Practice in UNDP/GEF-SGP 10 years of operations
in Pakistan. For more information, please see the press
release.
Shigar
Fort Residence Receives 2006 UNESCO Award of Excellence
The
Shigar Fort Palace (in Skardu in the Northern region of
Pakistan) has been honoured with the Award of Excellence
in the 2006 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture
Heritage Conservation. The Shigar Fort has been converted,
through adpative re-use, into a small hotel. From the commendation:
“The Award of Excellence winner, Shigar Fort Palace
(Skardu, Northern Areas, Pakistan) was commended for setting
a high-profile precedent for a sustainable modern reuse
of heritage structures in Pakistan. The adaptation into
a boutique hotel has strategically capitalized on the complex’s
authentic local architecture and dramatic setting in the
Karakoram mountains to create a unique destination for visitors.
Through a holistic community development approach, multiplier
effects from the project have benefited the local villagers
in form of job creation, upgrade of shared infrastructure
and water supply, and renewed pride in the area’s
rich crafts and intangible heritage traditions.” For
more information, please see the announcement.
"Clean
Village" Award for AKPBS Project
The
Indian village of Karan, in the Gujarat's taluka of Siddhpur,
will receive the "Nirmal Gram" Award. The project
to make the village "nirmal" (clean) was undertaken
by the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, India, with
the full cooperation of the Patan district's rural development
committee. Karan has a population of 766 people and 130
families. Each home has a toilet facility and underground
sewerage. There have also been changes in common practice
that have led to improved health. For more information about
AKPBS, please see its home page.
2006
PATA GOLD Award for Heritage and Culture to Shigar Fort
Restoration
The
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) announced the winners
of the 2006 PATA Gold Awards on 17 February of this year.
The restoration and re-use of Shigar Fort Palace by the
Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan won a Gold Award in the
Heritage and Culture category. The winners will receive
their awards during the 55th PATA Annual Conference in Pattaya,
Thailand, April 23-27, 2006. For more information, please
see the PATA
website.
2005
Global Development Awards: Most Innovative Development Project
The
Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Pakistan has won the
2005 Global Development Awards for Most Innovative Development
Project. The award, which was announced at the Seventh Annual
Global Development Conference held in St. Petersburg, Russia
on 20 January 2006, was given to the development projects
that are judged to have the greatest potential for benefiting
the poor in developing countries. For more information,
please see the Global
Development Network website.
AKPBS
Wins 2005 Alcan Prize for Water and Sanitation Programme
 The
Aga Khan Planning and Building Service in Pakistan (AKPBS,P)
has been named the 2005 winner of the US $1 million Alcan
Prize for Sustainability by the Prince of Wales International
Business Leaders Forum (IBLF). It received the award for
its efforts to improve Pakistan’s built environment
and water and sanitation facilities. Launched in 1997, the
programme's aim is to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases
through the provision of potable water as well as improved
hygiene and sanitation practices. The success of this programme
has led to a partnership between AKPBS,P and the Pakistan
Poverty Alleviation Fund. As a result, the programme is
being replicated in several other areas with the support
of donors and partners.
For
more information, please see the press
release and the Aga
Khan Planning and Building Services home page.
Azhar
Park Receives Travel + Leisure 2005 Global Vision Innovation
Award
 The
Cairo project has won the 2005 Global Vision Innovation
Award from Travel +Leisure magazine.
From
the citation: "Our judges were drawn to the extraordinarily
multifaceted approach of this project: Al-Azhar provides
leisure and recreational space to a city that has little;
acts as an engine of social and economic development for
neighboring residents; and is a catalyst for historic preservation.
In a city where the amount of green space per resident was
roughly the size of a footprint, Al-Azhar is a much-needed
green lung for Cairo's 17 million inhabitants.... Al- Azhar
has proven to be one of the most significant urban renewal
efforts in recent history."
For
more information, please
see the Travel + Leisure site.
Microfinance
Awards
2005
CGAP Financial Transparency Award: The First MicroFinance
Bank Ltd. (FMFB) in Pakistan was awarded one of five top
Financial Transparency Awards. The winners were selected
from 175 applications sent in from 57 countries. The Bank
had the unique distinction of being the the youngest institution
to get the top award. For more information, please see the
CGAP site. In 2004, FMFB earned “Honorable Mention”
in the CGAP 2004 Financial Transparency Award competition
sponsored by the World Bank-affiliated Consultative Group
to Assist the Poor (CGAP). For more information, please
see the
CGAP press release, 24 March 2005.
2005
Global Microentrepreneurship Award: Two entrepreneurs
supported by the First MicroFinanceBank Ltd (FMFB), Pakistan,
won the 2005 Global Microentrepreneurship Award in a ceremony
jointly organized by the United Nations Capital Development
Fund, the Citigroup Foundation and Pakistan National Committee
for 2005 International Microcredit. Selection for the Award
was made by an independent panel comprised of experts from
UNDP, Pakistan Poverty Evaluation Fund (PPAF), Citigroup
Foundation and Harvard Business School. 110 successful case
studies were evaluated and 16 short listed before eight
finalists were chosen. FMFB was the only institution with
two entrepreneurs winning first prize. In 2004, FMFB entrepreneurs
received first and second prizes and two runner-up prizes.
 UNESCO
2005 Asia Pacific Heritage Conservation
Award of Merit
The
Amburiq Mosque, the first mosque built in Baltistan, received
a UNESCO 2005 Asia Pacific Heritage Conservation Award of
Merit. The project was praised for its "sensitive conservation
programme which was undertaken by the Aga Khan Cultural
Services of Pakistan. The building and its courtyard have
now been returned to modern use as a community museum, giving
renewed life to one of the region’s historically and
socially significant structures". For more information,
please see the UNESCO
site.
Time Magazine Asia: 2005 Best of Asia Award
 The
restoration of Baltit Fort in the Hunza Valley of Pakistan
appeared on the cover of Time Magazine (27 June
2005, Asian edition) in a roundup of the "Best of Asia".
It won the "Best Restored Treasure". Time
said that "seven hundred years' worth of earthquakes,
avalanches and neglect had turned it into a rubble-strewn
heap, prompting the Mir to turn it over to the Aga Khan
Trust for Culture in 1989. The charitable foundation embarked
on a restoration, which took six years and more than $3
million—and the results are stunning."
For more information, please see Time
Magazine Best of Asia
2004 "Green Oscar"
for AKRSP's Micro-hydros in Northern Areas of Pakistan
The
Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Pakistan has won an
Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy for "outstanding
and innovative renewable energy projects". The Award
was given for the innovative use of mini hydroelectric plants,
called micro-hydels. The Ashden Award cited the AKRSP for
the sustainable and eco-friendly solution: "Unlike
dams, which invariably damage the local eco-system, the
micro-hydel technology used by AKRSP involves simply digging
a narrow channel to divert water along a hillside and into
a pipe, creating enough pressure to turn a turbine and so
produce 20 -100kw of power." Over 180 micro-hydel units
supplying electricity to 50 percent of the population of
Chitral have been built. The projects are implemented, maintained
and managed by the communities themselves.
For
more information, please see the
Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy website.
2004 UNESCO
Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award for Excellence
From
the citation: “The restoration of the majestic 700-year-old
Baltit Fort exemplifies excellence in conservation practice
applied to large-scale monuments. This challenging project
was the first of its kind in northern Hunza. By demonstrating
that historic structures can be saved, restored and recycled
for continued use in the community, the Baltit Fort project
is a model for the revitalization of historic structures
throughout the northern regions of Pakistan. In this project,
the historic wood and masonry structure was carefully repaired
using a combination of traditional local knowledge and state-of-the-art
conservation techniques. The fort's restoration has fostered
the local revival of traditional building trades, while
an associated handicrafts project provides improved livelihood
opportunities in the area. In its new use as a cultural
centre and museum, the Baltit Fort attracts thousands of
visitors to the province and has contributed to reinvigorating
the local community's pride in their heritage.”
For
more information, please see 2004 Awards on the
UNESCO site.
2003 UNESCO
Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award for the astana
(historic tomb) of Syed Mir Muhammad in Khanqha Settlement
From
the award citation: "noteworthy restoration of the
300-year old mausoleum ... which returns an important architectural
and community landmark to its former prominence in the northern
Pakistan highland settlement of Khaplu. The building’s
aged patina and historic character have been carefully retained
through skillful and sensitive conservation techniques."
The Awards are designed to "recognize the efforts and
contributions of individuals and organisations within the
private sector, including private-public partnerships, who
have successfully restored and conserved structures and
buildings of heritage value in the Asia-Pacific region".
For
more information, please see the 2003 Awards on the
UNESCO site.
2002 UNESCO Asia-Pacific
Heritage Conservation Award for the Ganish settlement projects
From
the award citation: “The restoration of four 300-year
old wooden mosques in the Hunza Valley has successfully
revitalized the village “chataq”, the traditional
public heart of the Ganish historic settlement. Initiated
and undertaken by the villagers, with professional guidance,
the project has rebuilt community spirit in an authentic
rural village which has undergone major socio-economic change
and natural disasters over the years.
"The
restrained conservation approach has stabilized the buildings
which were in danger of collapse, while retaining the rich
historic patina and showcasing the intricate detailing of
the structures. Modern materials were selectively incorporated
alongside the use of traditional materials and techniques.
The preservation of the surrounding buildings and infrastructural
improvements was sensitively executed, consequently strengthening
the traditional urban fabric while upgrading the quality
of life of the residents. The project presents an outstanding
example of a community-led initiative strategically facilitated
by outside support.”
For
more information, please see the
UNESCO website.
British Airways
Tourism for Tomorrow Award: Global Winner for 2000
From the citation: "The Aga Khan Trust for Culture
has restored the prime historic landmark of the 700 year
old Baltit Fort on the terraced slopes in Hunza, in Northern
Pakistan. The main theme of the project is to preserve this
setting despite natural decay and the inevitable impact
of recent changes, such as urbanisation which has begun
to threaten the integrity of the built heritage. The Fort
is now a museum and cultural centre. Moreover, culturally
and environmentally compatible small enterprises are being
promoted which provide gift items, local woollen rugs and
hand-knotted vegetable dye carpets for visitors.
“These
activities are playing a major part in reinvigorating the
traditional community spirit and restoring the residents'
pride of their heritage. A self-paying waste management
project has been set up to safely dispose of human waste
and garbage. The project now attracts over 20,000 visitors,
half of which are from outside the country. Access to the
Fort is limited to pedestrians and only 25 visitors are
allowed at any one time. To reduce the pressure on the environment
there is a break from tourists during the 4-5 months of
winter.”
For
more information, British
Airways Tourism for Tomorrow website.
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