The lament of a heritage manager in Pakistan

Source: Dawn, by Heba Hashmi

If I’m being honest, the phrase “I am a heritage manager” that I have been introducing myself with for the three years I’ve lived in Pakistan after graduating has been consistently interpreted as “I can read and write in English”. I wish I was exaggerating.

The problem of working in the field of heritage in Pakistan – or, more specifically, the irrelevance here of a Masters in Cultural Heritage Studies and Managing Archaeological Sites – is so startlingly simple, it requires a 1000+ word explanation.

It all began one stormy night when there was negligible understanding of the merits of the humanities and social sciences in the local education system.

Read more – Dated: Jun 12, 2017

Heba Hashmi is currently Heritage Coordinator of the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan, the country affiliate of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture that is operating in Gilgit-Baltistan and Lahore. She holds the aforementioned Masters in Cultural Heritage Studies and Managing Archaeological Sites, and has previously worked for the Endowment Fund Trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh and the Mohatta Palace Museum.

 

Previously on Ismailimail…

AKU-ISMC Event (In-person): Workshop on Citizenship, Islam, and Identity His Highness the Aga Khan, recipient of the 2011 UCSF Medal, USA “I am a Muslim. This is what Muslims do.”