Turquoise Mountain Foundation

Last updated

The Turquoise Mountain Foundation is a non-governmental organization legally established in Scotland. It takes its name from Turquoise Mountain and initially focused on the enhancement of the Afghanistan craft industry. [1] The organization subsequently expanded its work to Jordan, [2] Saudi Arabia, [3] and Myanmar (Burma). [4]

Contents

History and activities

Turquoise Mountain was founded in 2006 by King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) in partnership with President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, [5] and British writer, academic and former politician Rory Stewart, a former Conservative member of Parliament. [1] Stewart was chief executive of the foundation from 2005 to 2008; [6] the current chief executive is his wife Shoshana Stewart. [7]

Among the charity's projects was the Turquoise Mountain Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture, a school for the study of traditional Afghan calligraphy, ceramics, woodworking and jewelry-making. [1] Many of the Institute's graduates are Afghan women. [1] Turquoise Mountain also largely funded a major restoration project in Murad Khane, the old town of Kabul, encompassing the restoration of over 150 buildings in the neighborhood. [8] [9]

The group describes its mission as "to preserve and regenerate historic areas and communities with a rich cultural heritage and to revive traditional crafts, to create jobs, skills and a renewed sense of pride." [10] Funding has been provided by a number of public and private donors from both the West and Middle East, [8] including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Government of Afghanistan, the Government of India, the Blue Moon Fund, Reach Out To Asia, the Kathy Evans Afghan Education Trust, The Bonita Trust, The Prince's Charities, The Kingdom of Bahrain, the Amir of Kuwait, the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation (Saudi Arabia) and the British Council. [11]

The infamous scene in British film-maker Adam Curtis's 2015 documentary Bitter Lake (film) of an English art teacher enthusiastically extolling the meaning of Marcel Duchamp’s conceptual artwork, Fountain (Duchamp), an inverted male urinal, to a group of recently liberated and incredulous Afghan women, is held to have occurred under the auspices of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. [12]

In 2019 the Turquoise Mountain Foundation took over the activities of Arzu - Studios of Hope in Afghanistan. Arzu received a Skoll Award in 2008. [13]

In 2023, it was announced that Princess Dana Firas of Jordan was joining as a Trustee. [14]

Alumni

Related Research Articles

The Benevolence International Foundation, was a purported nonprofit charitable trust based in Saudi Arabia. It was determined to be a front for terrorist group Al-Qaeda and was banned by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267 and the US Department of the Treasury in November 2002. The BIF's chief executive officer Enaam Arnaout began a ten-year sentence in 2003 after pleading guilty for racketeering in a U.S. federal court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultan bin Abdulaziz</span> Saudi royal and politician (c. 1928–2011)

Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, called Sultan the Good in Saudi Arabia, was the Saudi defense minister from 1963 to 2011 and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until his death in October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turki Al-Faisal</span> Saudi royal and government official (born 1945)

Turki bin Faisal Al Saud is a Saudi prince and former government official who served as the head of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Presidency from 1979 to 2001. He is the chairman of the King Faisal Foundation's Center for Research and Islamic Studies.

The Mariam Appeal was a political campaign in the United Kingdom (UK) established in 1998 which ceased operation in 2003. The objects of the Appeal as stated in its constitution were "to provide medicines, medical equipment and medical assistance to the people of Iraq; to highlight the causes and results of the cancer epidemic in Iraq and to arrange for the medical treatment of a number of Iraqi children outside Iraq". The campaign was founded by the politician George Galloway, then a member of parliament. Princess Sarvath, wife of then Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan, was patron of the Appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salman of Saudi Arabia</span> King of Saudi Arabia since 2015

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and was also Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, he assumed the throne on 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 18 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. Salman is the third oldest living head of state, the oldest living monarch, and Saudi Arabia's first head of state born after the unification of Saudi Arabia. He has a reported personal wealth of at least $18 billion, which makes him the third wealthiest royal in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Stewart</span> British politician, academic and broadcaster (born 1973)

Roderick James Nugent Stewart is a British academic, broadcaster, writer, and former diplomat and politician. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border between 2010 and 2019, representing the Conservative Party. Stewart served in the UK Government as Minister of State for Environment (2015–16), International Development (2015–16), Africa (2016–18) and Prisons (2018–19) and then as Secretary of State for International Development (2019). In 2019, Stewart stood for Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister following the resignation of Theresa May. Since 2022, Stewart has co-hosted The Rest Is Politics podcast with Alastair Campbell, the inaugural Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson under Tony Blair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Shebbeare</span> Former CEO of the Princes Trust (1988- 2003)

Sir Tom Shebbeare,, is the current chairman of Spring Films and a former chair of Virgin Money Giving, Virgin StartUp and The Royal Parks Foundation. He is the former CEO of The Prince's Trust and Director of Charities to His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales.

The King's Foundation is an educational charity established in 1986 by King Charles III to teach and demonstrate in practice those principles of traditional urban design and architecture which put people and the communities of which they are part at the centre of the design process.

<i>The Places in Between</i> 2004 book by Rory Stewart

The Places in Between is a travel narrative by Rory Stewart, a British writer, academic, broadcaster, former diplomat and Member of Parliament, detailing his solo walk across north-central Afghanistan in 2002.

Firozkoh, or Turquoise Mountain, was the summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty, in the Ghor Province of central Afghanistan. It was reputedly one of the greatest cities of its age, but was destroyed in 1223 after a siege by Tolui, son of Genghis Khan. The location of the city was lost to history. It has been proposed that the Minaret of Jam, in Shahrak District, Ghor Province, is the only standing remains of the city.

Afghan <i>mujahideen</i> Islamist resistance groups

The Afghan mujahideen were Islamist resistance groups that fought against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War and the subsequent First Afghan Civil War.

Since the 1980s Saudi Arabia has provided foreign assistance to many countries and organizations.

Content from the United States diplomatic cables leak has depicted Saudi Arabia and related subjects extensively. The leak, which began on 28 November 2010, occurred when the website of WikiLeaks — an international new media non-profit organization that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources and news leaks — started to publish classified documents of detailed correspondence — diplomatic cables — between the United States Department of State and its diplomatic missions around the world. Since the initial release date, WikiLeaks is releasing further documents every day.

Murad Khani or Murad Khane is a small historical neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan. The neighborhood is part of the city's District 2, situated north of the Kabul River between Da Afghanistan Bank, Ministry of Defense, Eidgah Mosque, Pul-e Khishti Mosque and Kabul Serena Hotel. The Abul Fazl Shrine is located within this neighborhood.

Ameera bint Aidan bin Nayef al-Taweel al-Otaibi is a Saudi Arabian philanthropist and ex-princess. Born into the Tribe of Otaibah, she became affiliated with the House of Saud after marrying al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud in 2008. She was the vice chairwoman of the al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation, a charity in Saudi Arabia, for the duration of her marriage, which ended in a divorce in 2013. Ameera is currently a member of the board of trustees at Silatech, a youth employment organization in Qatar. She has been a long-standing advocate for Saudi women's rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Swire</span> British businessperson

Sophia Swire is a British social entrepreneur and impact venture capitalist with a focus on gender, climate and sustainability.

The Mosaic Network is a charitable initiative founded by Charles, Prince of Wales in 2007 as part of 'The Prince's Programmes' at his charity "Business in the Community". The catalyst was a memorandum from The Prince of Wales to Julia Cleverdon, who was the chief executive officer of BITC, and John O'Brien MBE, who was the director of personal programmes. Although it sat well outside the normal focus of BITC, Cleverdon gave O'Brien a free remit to see what he could create. The initiative very quickly became formed a multiple set of initiatives which included, The Mosaic Schools Network, chaired by Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordon, The Mosaic Speakers Bureau with individuals including Pinky Lilani, Asad Ahmad and many others. It also consisted of a media network launched at Channel 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Lewis (filmmaker)</span> British journalist and writer

Damien Gavin Lewis is a British author and filmmaker who has spent over twenty years reporting from and writing about conflict zones in many countries. He has produced about twenty films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International propagation of Salafism</span>

Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, Salafism and Wahhabism — along with other Sunni interpretations of Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies — achieved a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Firas</span> Jordanian royal

Princess Dana Firas is a Jordanian princess and the wife of Prince Firas bin Ra'ad. She is a global advocate for heritage protection and preservation as a foundation for development, responsible tourism, identity and political participation, and peacebuilding. She is the wife of Prince Firas bin Ra'ad, the son of Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid and Princess Majda Ra'ad.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Felicia Craddock, In Afghanistan, Creating Jewelry in the Midst of Conflict, New York Times (September 11, 2014).
  2. ↑ Jordan, Turquoise Mountain.
  3. ↑ Saudi Arabia, Turquoise Mountain.
  4. ↑ Myanmar, Turquoise Mountain.
  5. ↑ "The Turquoise Mountain Foundation becomes The Prince's 18th charity". Prince of Wales website. 25 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01.
  6. ↑ Erwin James, Rory Stewart: 'I'll resign if prison violence doesn't improve', The Guardian (January 23, 2019).
  7. ↑ Edward Malnick, Rory Stewart reveals the secret to his success: his wife who has quietly been running his campaign to become Tory leader, The Telegraph (June 16, 2019).
  8. 1 2 Alisa Tang, Kabul's old city gets a new look, New York Times (February 1, 2008).
  9. ↑ Stefanie Glinski, 'There is less fear': restoration of Kabul repairs the ravages of war, The Guardian (May 13, 2019).
  10. ↑ About, Turquoise Mountain.
  11. ↑ Turquoise Mountain Brochure (PDF), Turquoise Mountain Foundation, 2009, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-01
  12. ↑ "The Register"
  13. ↑ Turquoise Mountain took over the weaving centres of ARZU Studio Hope.
  14. ↑ "UK charity appoints Middle Eastern princess as a trustee". Third Sector. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.