The UNESCO-SAF Madanjeet Singh Institute of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage, Kabul.

Back
Event Paris, France - 22nd March 2004
Establishment of the MSIACH
 
  Establishment of the MSIACH
The agreement for the establishment of the Madanjeet Singh Institute for Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage in Kabul signed in Paris at the UNESCO Headquarters by the UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, and SAF Founder Madanjeet Singh on 22nd March 2004.

 
The agreement, to which Afghanistan’s Minister of Information and Culture had already affixed his signature in Kabul, was signed in Paris by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and myself on 22nd March 2004.

The salient provisions of the seven-article agreement specify the responsibilities of each of the three parties: SAF was to open a bank account in Kabul and provide funds in instalments, totalling US$1 million; the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture would restore, adapt, rehabilitate, furnish and equip the Institute, and would be responsible for its management; and UNESCO would assist in the implementation of the training courses, jointly with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) in Rome, the Indian National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC) in Lucknow, and other specialized institutions.

They would provide expertise in the following domains: evaluation of equipment needs; identification of manufacturers of the required equipment; identification of a training curriculum adapted to the needs of Afghanistan in different fields, such as museology, the conservation of museum objects, museum management, mural painting conservation, architectural restoration and site management; identification of suitable candidates; and appointing highly qualified teachers in the areas concerned.
 

Inauguration of the Institute
 
  Construction of the Institute
   
Construction of the Madanjeet Singh Institute for Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage, in cooperation with UNESCO to restore the former war-damaged International Press Club in Kabul, is proceeding on schedule.

 
The construction of the Madanjeet Singh Institute for Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage in Kabul set a precedent and the UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, has since agreed to provide consultancy assistance to other similar institutions of excellence that SAF intends to build in each of the other South Asian countries.

This Institute located in Kabul was inaugurated in Kabul on 13th July 2006 following two years of a complete restoration, damaged after the wars.

Students from different regions of Afghanistan and the SAARC countries will be trained in the preservation of monuments in cooperation with UNESCO and its subsidiary bodies such as ICROM and ICOMOS.

An international faculty of teachers is now being recruited after a team of two experts assigned by UNESCO assess the needs of the Institute.
In continuity with SAF policy of regional cooperation, SAF group scholarships will also be allocated which would enable students from all the eight SAARC countries to study together.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Madanjeet SIngh, The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and The Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan concerning the Madanjeet Singh Institute for Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage.