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TheTurquoise Mountain Foundation is anon-governmental organization legally established inScotland. It takes its name fromTurquoise Mountain and initially focused on the enhancement of theAfghanistancraft industry.[1] The organization subsequently expanded its work toJordan,[2]Saudi Arabia,[3] andMyanmar (Burma).[4]
Turquoise Mountain was founded in 2006 byKing Charles III (then thePrince of Wales) in partnership with President of AfghanistanHamid Karzai,[5] and British writer, academic and former politicianRory Stewart, a formerConservativemember 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 theTurquoise Mountain Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture, a school for the study of traditional Afghancalligraphy,ceramics,woodworking andjewelry-making.[1] Many of the Institute's graduates areAfghan women.[1] Turquoise Mountain also largely funded a major restoration project inMurad Khane, the old town ofKabul, 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 theWest andMiddle East,[8] including theUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID),Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Government of Afghanistan, the Government of India, theBlue 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 theBritish Council.[11]
The scene in British film-makerAdam Curtis's 2015 documentaryBitter Lake of an English art teacher enthusiastically extolling the meaning ofMarcel Duchamp’s conceptual artwork,Fountain, 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 ofArzu - Studios of Hope in Afghanistan. Arzu received aSkoll Award in 2008.[13]
In 2023, it was announced that PrincessDana Firas of Jordan was joining as a Trustee.[14]