Can architecture survive politics and religious differences?  Marking one year after the Taliban’s return, the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB)—in collaboration with the Society of Architectural Historians in the USA (SAH)—cordially invites the public to join an online international symposium to discuss architecture, built heritage, and global politics in the past, present, and future of Afghanistan. 

Invited panelists are Afghan and international architects, UNESCO directors and representatives in Kabul (Afghanistan) and Baghdad (Iraq), archaeologists, cultural specialists, and historians.  Each will share their insights about how global politics impacts Afghanistan and how each panelist has worked to protect and preserve Afghan built heritage amidst wars, political turbulences, and international pressure. 

Afghanistan: Architecture and Global Politics

October 20, 2022: 11:00am (NYC, USA-EDT), 4:00pm (London, UK), 7:30pm (Kabul, Afgahnistan)

PROGRAMME (The following schedule is listed in the UK Time Zone. For USA-EDT, count back 5 hours. For USA-PDT, count back 8 hours. For Afghanistan’s Time , count forward 3.5 hours. For Japan’s Time, count forward 13 hours.)

4:00-4:05pm Introduction and Welcome

  • Murray Fraser (President, SAH-GB) & Patricia Morton (President, SAH-USA)

Panel A: Architecture in Face of Political Transitions

Moderator: Vimalin Rujivacharakul (SAH, USA)

  • 4.05-4.20pm Jolyon Leslie, Architect and Advisor, Afghan Cultural Heritage Consulting Organization (ACHCO), Kabul, Afghanistan
    Monuments and Memory: Reflections on the Politics of Built Heritage
  • 4.20-4.35pm Susan Huntington, Co-founder of the Huntington Archive & Distinguished University Professor (Emerita), Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
    The Huntington Archive and Afghan Monuments Before the Soviet-Afghan War
  • 4.35-4.50pm Sayed Mossadeq Khalili, Former Deputy Minister of Culture of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Paris, France
    Afghanistan's Current Approach to Architectural Heritage: Case Studies of Timurid Architecture
  • 4.50-5.05pm Paolo Fontani, Director, UNESCO Field Office, Baghdad, Iraq & Former Director, UNESCO Field Office, Kabul, Afghanistan
    Heritage for Peace and Nation Building: the Case of Afghanistan

5.05-5.25pm Q&A

5:25-5:40pm Comfort Break

Panel B: Strategies for Built Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan

Moderator: Max Sternberg (SAHGB, UK)

  • 5.40-5.55pm Brendan Cassar, Head of Cultural Programs, UNESCO Field Office, Kabul, Afghanistan
    UNESCO in Afghanistan: Architecture and Cultural Programs at Present and into the Future
  • 5.55-6.10pm Georgios Toubekis, Researcher and ICOMOS Expert, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology, Aachen, Germany
    Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley: Preserving UNESCO World Heritage in Afghanistan
  • 6.10-6.25pm Shumpei Iwai, Curator, Ryukoku Museum, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan
    Bamiyan Buddhist Caves and Squinches: Contributions from the Japanese Research Team in Afghanistan
  • 6:25-6:40pm Fotini Christia, Professor of Political Sciences and Nikolaos Vlavianos, Graduate Student, MIT, Cambridge, USA
    Ways of Seeing: Documenting and 3D Scanning of Endangered Built Heritage in Afghanistan

6:40-7:00pm Q&A / symposium conclusion

Organised by:

  • SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS OF GREAT BRITAIN [Professor Murray Fraser, Chair]
  • SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS (US) [Dr. Vimalin Rujivacharakul, Interim Board Member]