What does it mean when you are asked: "Where are you from?" This often innocuous question provides information to identify the historical background of a person but, more often than not, also pigeon-holes migrants based on biases and stereotypes. The project, Fondazione Imago Mundi, a project founded by Italian billionaire Luciano Benetton, has partnered with the Aga Khan Museum to launch a new project changing the narrative of identity for migrants. The partnership has kicked off with an exhibition in Italy called "Don't Ask Me Where I'm From." Aligned in their belief in art as a source of knowledge and a key to interpreting the world, the Aga Khan Museum and the Fondazione Imago Mundi have come together for this project with a shared goal of furthering understanding, respect, and tolerance among the world's cultures.

Forty years of war, from the Soviet occupation of the 1980s to internal strife and Taliban rule, have destroyed much of Afghanistan’s prized art, artefacts and architecture. When the Taliban government was ousted in 2001, restoring monuments and historic neighborhoods was a low priority, given the urgent need for essentials from roads to sewer lines. So non-profits - including the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and Britain’s Turquoise Mountain Foundation (TMF) - stepped into the void. “The restorations instilled a sense of pride in the local community,” said AKTC general manager Luis Monreal, who credits the build with also creating homes, jobs and tourism.