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Aga
Khan and Colin Powell Open
"Silk Road" Festival in Washington
Click
here for images of Central Asian musicians performing
at a special
concert at the Library of Congress
Click
here for high resolution images of Central Asian
musicians and artists at the Smithsonian Folklife
Festival (sponsored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture)
More
information about the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
and the
Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia
Washington, DC, USA, June
26, 2002 — "A search for new forces
of stability," was how His Highness the Aga
Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims,
today described one of the pressing needs of the
moment in Central Asia. One such force "that
seems particularly essential," he said, "is
the validation and vigorous promotion of human and
cultural pluralism ... For the new countries of
Central Asia, the inherent pluralism of their societies
can be an asset rather than a liability. In a wider
sense, it can be a means for enlarging the frontiers
of global pluralism.... This is a goal, with which
we can all associate and should all associate."
Noting that "the Silk Road
was the main link between civilisations of the East,
Central Asia, and Europe and from Europe, the products
and ideas spread to the New World of the Americas,"
US Secretary of State Colin Powell pointed out that
it was "more than an image of past glories
.... The countries of Central Asia are once again
joining the nations at either end of the Silk Road
on a path to a better future for all ... The region’s
security, stability and prosperity depend on critical
political and economic reform, but the Silk Road
is once again a living reality."
In the shade of a canvas replica
of Samarkand’s Registan Square on The Mall between
the Capitol and the Washington Monument, the Aga
Khan joined Secretary Powell and distinguished government
leaders, including Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator
Sam Brownback, as well as renowned cellist Yo-Yo
Ma, to light a lamp symbolically inaugurating the
Smithsonian Folklife Festival produced in collaboration
with the Silk Road Project, Inc. whose lead funder
and key creative partner is the Aga Khan Trust for
Culture.
The Festival, produced by the Smithsonian
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, is for
the first time in its 36 year history dedicated
to a single theme: "The Silk Road: Connecting
Cultures, Creating Trust." The 2002 Festival
features a living exhibition of the music, crafts,
culinary and narrative traditions involved in the
cultural interchange between the "East"
and the "West."
Senator Edward Kennedy, in his remarks,
expressed deep appreciation of the role being played
by the Aga Khan in the process of education and
cultural understanding. "Now more than ever,"
said Sen. Kennedy, "his is a voice that needs
to heard and understood."
Following the opening ceremony which
featured short performances by Yo-Yo Ma and members
of the Silk Road Ensemble, as well as musicians
from countries as diverse as Mongolia, Japan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan, the Aga Khan and Secretary Powell
toured several of the exhibits.
Set over 20 acres,
the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival features
some 350 traditional artists - musicians, dancers,
craftsmen, storytellers, artists, cooks, and more
- from 20 nations including the United States, Italy,
Turkey, Syria, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Mongolia, and
Japan. The Silk Road program illustrates connections
between the cultures of Asia, Europe, and America
based upon historical trade routes. It emphasizes
the development of many living traditions - from
silk textiles to tea drinking, from stringed instruments
to paper making, from noodle traditions to blue
and white "chinaware."
The Silk Road Project, Inc., founded
by Yo-Yo Ma, seeks to illuminate the Silk Road’s
historical contribution to the cross-cultural diffusion
of arts, technologies, and musical traditions, identify
the voices that best represent its cultural legacy
today, and support innovative collaborations among
outstanding artists from the lands of the Silk Road
and the West.
Through the Aga Khan Music Initiative
in Central Asia, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture,
the lead funder and creative partner of the Silk
Road Project, seeks to preserve and revive the traditional
music of Central Asia and enhance its role thorough
providing financial resources, technical assistance
and organizational support directly to individuals
and organizations in the region.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is
one of the agencies of the Aga Khan Development
Network (AKDN). The Trust’s own involvement in Central
Asia covers areas of architecture and education
as well as music. It has recently begun two major
cultural restoration and urban revitalisation projects
in Kabul, Afghanistan: the Mausoleum of Timur Shah
and the Bagh-e-Babur gardens.
In collaboration with the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Press, the Trust’s Education
and Culture Program has developed ArchNet, an Internet-based
network that will provide students and professionals
around the world with a globally accessible resource
on architecture, urban design and related issues
such as restoration, conservation and housing design
and construction. ArchNet has established a computer
laboratory and held courses in computer aided design
at the Tajik Technical University in Dushanbe. The
Aga Khan Humanities Project for Central Asia, based
in Dushanbe, is working with scholars from the region
and abroad to design humanities curricula for universities
and schools in Central Asia.
The AKDN has launched a number of
successful initiatives in Central Asia ranging from
agrarian reform to education, infrastructure, healthcare,
micro-credit, small enterprise development and cultural
revitalisation. Pre-eminent amongst these is the
University of Central Asia, the world’s first institution
of higher learning dedicated to the study of mountain
societies. The University, established by international
treaty between Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,
Tajikistan and the Ismaili Imamat, will serve a
catchment population of nearly 25 million people.
The AKDN is a group of private,
non-denominational development agencies and institutions
that seek to empower communities and individuals,
often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve
living conditions and opportunities. Established
by the Ismaili Imamat (office of spiritual leadership)
and working in over 20 countries, the Network’s
underlying impulse is the ethic of compassion for
the vulnerable in society and its agencies and institutions
work for the common good of all citizens, regardless
of origin, gender or religion.
For high resolution pictures, please
see the AKDN website: www.akdn.org
For further information, please
contact:
The Information Office
Washington, DC
Telephone: +1.202.293.2537
Fax: +1.202.785.1752
E-mail: information@aiglemont.org
website: www.akdn.org
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