Summer School on Central Asian Culture

In September 2022, the Aga Khan Humanities Project (AKHP) conducted a three-week international summer school ‘Past, Present, Future: Critical Approaches to Cultural Heritage in Central Asia’ in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The school attracted 19 young people from Germany, Canada, United States, and Tajikistan, to improve their knowledge of Central Asian history, cultures, and languages.

Local and international scholars conducted lectures and seminars providing deeper insight into the cultural diversity of Central Asia. Students undertook mini projects, researching cultural heritage, its meanings, and contexts, and participated in several fieldtrips to cultural sites in Kulob and Dushanbe, exploring museums and art.

An intensive course on the Tajik language was also organized for international students, who then participated in a language event with UCA students in Dushanbe. Alongside lectures and seminars on cultural heritage, the students participated in a day of Cross Debate Format (CDF) training conducted by three regional trainers, who introduced the students to the key concepts and methods of CDF.