Historic Cities Programme continues its Canadian tour in Toronto
Aleem Kanji moderates the panel discussion on “Culture as an Asset in Development” with panelists (left-to-right) Mr Bob Onyschuk, Mr David Amborski, and Mr Arun Pradhan. Photo: Aziz Dhamani
Toronto, 24 April 2008 — Following its successful Canadian launch at Montreal's McCord Museum, the Historic Cities Programme Exhibition arrived at Metro Hall in Toronto on 16 April 2008. The exhibition was the subject of a panel discussion on Culture as an Asset in Development.
The panelists were Mr Bob Onyschuk, a senior partner with the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Mr David Amborski, Professor and Director at Ryerson University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, and Mr Arun Pradhan, President of Papadopoulos and Pradhan Architects Inc. The lively panel discussion, which was moderated by Aleem Kanji, provided local and global perspectives, as well as an analysis of best practices in urban revitalisation and restoration techniques.
Over 350 Bait-ul Ilm secondary students attended the Historic Cities Programme exhibition at Metro Hall in Toronto. Photo: Aziz Dhamani
Between 16 – 19 April, over 1 200 tours of the exhibition were completed at Metro Hall in downtown Toronto. Several municipal leaders attended the exhibition, including Toronto City Councillors Karen Stintz, Brian Ashton, Gloria Lindsay-Luby and Howard Moscoe. Renowned architects Jack Diamond, Raymond Moriyama and Ted Teshima also visited. In addition, some 350 Bait-ul Ilm secondary students supplemented their Saturday classes with a field-trip to the exhibition.
On 20 April, the exhibition moves uptown to the Ontario Science Centre where it will remain on display until 25 April, when it leaves Toronto for the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge.
The Historic Cities Programme launched the Canadian tour of its exhibition in Montreal earlier this month and will visit Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary in the coming weeks. The exhibition is an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam. It showcases five projects located in Egypt, Syria, Mali, India, and Afghanistan, providing a unique lens on the role of culture in development.
For the past 25 years, the Historic Cities Programme has promoted the conservation and re-use of buildings and public spaces in historic cities in the Muslim World. Its projects are designed to bring about social, economic and cultural development, while building community participation and training local professionals and institutions.
For more information, see the Historic Cities Programme Exhibition.
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