A crossroads between east and west and an ancient focal point of trade and migration, Afghanistan has since the late 1970s suffered continuous and brutal civil war, punctuated by foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. As the country seeks to rebuild its shattered infrastructure, it welcomes this opportunity to showcase its rich cultural heritage and at the same time to encourage its cultural sector to participate in creative dialogue and co-operation with other countries.

Based on in-country research by consultant Linda Mazur, the Afghanistan Cultural Profile was the pilot project for the Cultural Profiles and is thus rather smaller in size than those of other profiled countries. It offers a sector-by-sector guide to Archives and libraries, Competitions and awards, Cultural policy and infrastructure, Film, Heritage, International cultural exchange, Literature, Media, Performing arts, Training and research and Visual arts. Each sectoral overview concludes with a database of key contact organisations, making it possible for the reader not only to learn about what is happening in a particular cultural sector, but also to make direct contact with the key people working in it.

Targeted at cultural professionals, yet packed full of information and images which will be of interest to the cultural tourist, the Afghanistan Cultural Profile forms part of a new and highly authoritative global source of web intelligence on culture.

We are currently seeking partners to help us update and maintain this website - interested organisations should contact Tim Doling, Managing Editor, Cultural Profiles, at [email protected]