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A Center Like No Other

 

As the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University (ACKU) completes its second year in its new location, it is evident that there is nothing like it in the region. Its state-of-the-art facility is in high demand.

 

Since January 2014, ACKU has hosted 21 meetings and conferences, six training sessions, and two photography exhibits and welcomed nearly 1,750 participants.

 

In addition to in-house activities, ACKU's outreach program ABLE has been hard at work. In 2014, it added 20 new titles (10 in Dari,10 in Pashto), opened 10 additional libraries, and, through partnerships with other organizations, provided libraries in 48 new locations.


ACKU has quickly become a landmark in Kabul. Its programs are providing the tools for Afghans to ensure their country thrives. As you will read below, ACKU's staff have been working tirelessly in 2014 to provide varied programs and exhibitions. 

 

With your help, ACKU will be able to continue its role as the premier research and resource facility in Afghanistan and beyond. Please consider a gift today! 

 

 


Books Everywhere
ACKU's ABLE Project 


 

ACKU's Box Library Extension (ABLE) project added 10 new libraries in 2014 and published 10 new titles in Dari and Pashto. The latest books have improved illustrations and graphics. One of the new books is a story of struggles and triumphs of Afghan refugees in exile.

 

For the first time, ABLE began to publish books with ISBN numbers. This will allow ABLE books to be ordered much more easily.

 

In collaboration with the German development organization Deutsche Gesellschaft f�r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), ABLE recently completed a pilot project to bring 30 box libraries to police stations. This Police Reform,Literacy Unit project, benefiting 1,800 police men and women in Balkh province, was highly successful and is anticipated to expand widely throughout Afghanistan in the coming year. 


 


The Next Generation of Scholars
Teaching Research Skills

ACKU is equipping the next generation of Afghans with the tools to be better students and thinkers. Academic research is still a relatively new concept for students in Afghanistan and is not widely taught. ACKU is bringing the world of in-depth and expansive research to students at Kabul University through numerous courses and seminars, including: 

  • An Introduction to Research Method
  • An Introduction to Documentary Analysis
  • Academic Writing and Good Practice
  • Preparing a CV and Writing a Letter of Application 

In October, ACKU began a research seminar series that showcases the work of Afghan and international scholars working on Afghan-related topics.


 


Center Stage
ACKU Hosts International Conference Preserving Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage


 

On November 9-11, ACKU hosted an immensely successful three-day international conference, Preserving Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage. Organized by the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago and funded by the United States Embassy in Kabul, the conference offered a unique opportunity for those dedicated to Afghanistan's cultural preservation to gather together to discuss their efforts.

 

Presenters included delegates from the National Museum of Afghanistan, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the National School of Music, the National Archive, UNESCO, and many others. The conference, which brought together more than 200 Afghan and international women and men, was opened with a live speech by President Ashraf Ghani who stressed not only the importance of Afghanistan's rich heritage but also its identity.

 

The conference was attended by representatives from Ministry of Information and Culture, the Chancellor of Kabul University, and many students from Kabul University.  

 

The sessions were recorded and will be made publicly available, along with transcriptions. Stay tuned!


 


 


Women Inspiring Women
Memoir-Writing Workshop

 

Seventeen women from across Afghanistan came together at ACKU on May 17 and 18 for a workshop on memoir writing. The workshop was a pilot for a project funded by the British Council called "Afghan Women Spread the Word" that aims to create an archive of stories from Afghan women writers. 

 

The workshop was led by Julia Paul, a lecturer in broadcasting at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ms. Paul is a former BBC journalist who has worked in Afghanistan with Afghan women writers and journalists for a number of years. The women attending the workshop came from Helmand province, Bamiyan, Kandahar and Kabul.

 

 


Room With A View
Photography Exhibitions at ACKU


 

ACKU hosted an exhibition by two photojournalists in 2014. The first was an exhibit by iconic photojournalist Steve McCurry. To mark the opening of the exhibit, ACKU, jointly with the Armanshahr Foundation, hosted a panel discussion featuring Kabul University professor of journalism Ahmad Zia Rafat, Associated Press photographer Massoud Hosseini and filmmaker Sahraa Karimi.The discussion centered on the challenges facing Afghan photojournalists attempting to capture images such as Mr. McCurry's. 

 

The second exhibition, sponsored by the Institute Franais d'Afghanistan, featured the work of French photojournalist Sandra Calligaro, whose images capture middle class life in Kabul. The opening of the exhibit at ACKU featured a talk by Ms. Calligaro, who was introduced by the French Ambassador to Afghanistan, Jean-Michel Marlaud. Afghan journalist Mujib Mushal joined Ms. Calligaro for a discussion of the challenges of photographing everyday Afghan life.

Both openings were attended by wide audiences of students and faculty from Kabul University, representatives of national and international organizations and various government ministries.

 

 


Kardan Corner
ACKU Corners Kabul
Mini-ACKUs at Gawharshad and Kardan Universities


 

Students at Gawharshad University and Kardan University in Kabul can now access ACKU's holdings on their own campuses. In 2014, ACKU opened "Corners" which allow students and faculty at those universities to research ACKU's digital archive of material remotely from their own campuses.

 

 


Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation 
for the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University

FOUNDER AND EX-OFFICIO

Nancy Hatch Dupree    

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Andrew H. Brimmer, Chair | Ellen K. Jorgensen, TreasurerSarah O'Hagan, SecretaryRobert J. Breen |

Sandra Cook | Peter B. de Neufville | Ashraf Ghani | M. Ashraf Haidari| Sheila M. Platt | David Rohde |

J. Alexander Thier | Mary Anne Schwalbe, Chair Emerita (deceased)

 

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Theodore L. Eliot, Jr., Convener | George Biddle | Lakhdar Brahimi| John A. Gastright, Jr. | Said T. Jawad | 

Tony Kushner | Spozhmai Maiwandi | Ronald E. Neumann | Nicholas Platt | Mary Anne Weaver | 

Catherine W. Wilkinson

 

Laura J. Marks, Executive Director

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