Last Updated on: 1 June 2016
The notion of culture as an asset rather than a luxury is still a contested issue in many poorer parts of the world. As a result, a significant part of the world’s cultural heritage – much of it in the Muslim world – is at risk, as other needs are considered priorities. The central question has been how culture, integrated with more traditional instruments of development, can be used to improve lives in urban, poor and even remote contexts. How can culture provide employment, raise incomes, affect wellbeing, improve health, enhance urban spaces, reinforce a respect for diversity, even restore pride and hope? For over three decades, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has shown how culture can be a catalyst for improving the quality of life – in its broadest sense – even in the poorest and most remote areas of the globe. From Afghanistan to Zanzibar, from India to Mali, the Trust’s support to communities has demonstrated how culture – in many instances the only asset at the disposal of the community – can provide a springboard for both social and economic development.