LAHORE, MAR 02 (DNA) – German Ambassador Bernhard Schlagheck on Monday has opened an exhibition of the German Federal Foreign Office named “Worlds of Culture” at the Lahore Fort together with Mr. Kamran Lashari, Director General of the Walled City of Lahore Authority and Naurin Ahmad-Zaki, Director of the Annemarie-Schimmel-Haus in Lahore.

The exhibition displays 15 highlights of Germany’s Cultural Heritage Preservation Program worldwide.

One of the projects prominently featured in the exhibition is the conservation of the Picture Wall at Lahore Fort which has been realized by Agha Khan Cultural Service Pakistan in partnership with the Government of Punjab’s Walled City of Lahore Authority. The exhibition will remain open until 9 March 2020 at Diwan-e-Aam, Lahore Fort.

During the opening ceremony Ambassador Bernhard Schlagheck said: “Cultural heritage is an integral part of our identity. Its preservation is everyone’s task. The exhibition “Worlds of Cultures” shows examples of heritage preservation projects from around the world funded by Germany.

The support for the restoration of the Picture Wall at Lahore Fort is one of these successful examples.

The Picture Wall with all its extensive embellishments represents the exceptional craftsmanship of the Mughal period. I am delighted that Germany could render its support to help preserve its splendid beauty for the generations to come.”

The German Federal Foreign Office launched its Cultural Preservation Program in 1981. It aims to protect and nurture cultural diversity and to raise people’s awareness of their own national identity.

The sharing of German expertise in the field of conservation and restoration fosters cultural dialogue in a spirit of partnership.

Since 1982, Germany has offered financial support for cultural preservation projects in Pakistan to the amount of almost one million euro. In 2017 and 2018 the German Federal Foreign Office supported the conservation of the Picture Wall at Lahore Fort with 190.000 €.

It also supported the rehabilitation of 12 historic homes in Gali Surjan Singh, a project which was recognized with a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Preservation in 2014.=DNA

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