Revitalising Cities Through Conservation

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture focuses on the physical, social, cultural and economic revitalisation of communities in the developing world. The Trust forms partnerships with local organisations to bring about sustainable change to the city through conservation, demonstrating that cultural concerns and socio-economic needs can be mutually supportive.

Projects test new strategies which combine state-of-the-art restoration, conservation, and urban development principles. Working with community based institutions and fresh entrepreneurial initiatives that are designed to make local resources self-sustaining for the future. All enabling development factors - community support, innovative institutional structures, and commercial potential - are harnessed, whenever possible, to make conservation sustainable.

This event will commence with a presentation of the work that the Trust has been doing in developing countries and what impact that has had on preserving local cultural heritage, strengthening the sense of social cohesion, and what have been the long term impacts for the local economy.

This will be followed by a panel discussion that examines in greater detail the Trust's project in Penang that has drawn together the Trust, city government and Think City in improving the public realm of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of George Town. This project aims to bring best practice in conservation methods to build capacity within Malaysia, and engages community groups to take part in activities such as archaeological digs as well as contributing to the design process of public realm improvement.