The Portuguese Ambassador to Pakistan His Excellency Frederico Silva participated in a round table organized by Aga Khan Cultural Service – Pakistan at their office in Zaman Park. The session titled ‘Heritage Conservation and Intercultural Communication’ was held on Monday, February 24, 2025. Celebrated Portuguese journalist and author Teresa Nicolau also attended the event along with Honorary Consul of Portugal, Mr. Iftikhar Firoz. Additionally, participants of the roundtable included visual artists, musicians, photojournalists and conservation experts.
CEO Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan Tausif Khawaja who was present on the occasion, opened the session by giving an overview of the organization’s key conservation-related efforts in the country. Subsequently, videos were screened, highlighting the restoration of parts of the Lahore Fort and the Wazir Khan Mosque.
Ambassador Silva traced linkages between Portugal and Pakistan based on a shared cultural history such the influence of Islamic culture on art and architecture and linguistic commonalities. He underscored the vast potential of the two countries to collaborate on cultural initiatives involving visual artists, heritage conservators and musicians. Members of the creative fraternity who were part of the dialogue shared their reflections to that end. They highlighted the importance of conducting joint initiatives such as Art Residencies and concerts. Those who contributed to the discussion included the founder and creative head of Ta’gheer Lahore Creative Space Nashmia Haroon, visual artist and Professor Farazeh Syed, the Director of the Natural History Museum, Mehr Hussain and photojournalist Saad Sheikh.
Describing Pakistan as a country full of artistic talent, Ambassador Silva described the immense potential for building cultural linkages between Portugal and Pakistan. “I have been attending literary festivals and other cultural events and have met a lot of dynamic artists in the country. I would be happy to facilitate cultural exchange between Portugal and Pakistan that involves music and visual art.”
Ms. Nicolau shared her perspective on the need for people to share their narratives to challenge stereotypes and combat a one-dimensional portrayal of their culture. Lamenting the tendency by mainstream journalism to focus on politics, violence, and economics, she underlined the need to tell heritage and cultural stories. “Culture tends to be reduced to mere entertainment, but it is much more than that; it is part of our identity and a representation of who we are,” she said, “Cultural journalism helps to counter the mainstream narrative that shows only one dimension of a country.”
Participants also discussed the importance of holding literary festivals and musical performances that cater to the masses instead of just the elite.
It was unanimously agreed that while the support of governments and donor agencies was needed to expand cultural activities in the country, it was important for creative people to take a personal initiative to promote art.