BACA President named 15th Aga Khan Award member

Manama, Jan. 18 (BNA): The Aga Khan Award for Architecture has named the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, as member of its 15th edition, 2020-2022. Shaikha Mai’s nomination for the award membership coincides with her nomination by the Kingdom of Bahrain for the post of Secretary-General of UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and crowns her multiple achievements in the fields of culture and sustainable tourism. The "Revitalisation of Muharraq" project won the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The project was implemented in cooperation between the public and private sectors represented by BACA and the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa’s Centre for Culture and Research. The project sheds light on the history of the pearling profession and the importance of the Pearling Trail Site, Bahrain’s third site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It also aims to re-balance Muharraq’s demographic makeup, enticing local families back through improvements to the environment and provision of community and cultural venues. Launched by Aga Khan IV in 1977, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is an architectural prize aiming to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community development and improvement, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.