Abstract
Tourism has a tremendous capacity of changing lives. It brings prosperity as well as enlightens the mind. As South Asians we believe in ‘travelling as a means of success’. In Pakistan, travel and tourism can be utilized in recognizing the intellectual diversity and accepting various streams of thought which is the only way forward to ‘reclaim the future’. Pakistan exhibits an apprehensive social fabric, tainted with the ideas of Islamization and Pakistaniat. Reviving the old-fashioned way, by mastering the ancient art of rhetoric, and spinning a life around it, once established in the public mind, performs the work of argument all by itself. This can be achieved through owning our cultural heritage which dates back to antiquity and is shaped up by diverse systems of faith over time. Keeping this in mind, a nonprofit organization THAAP (Trust for History of Art and Architecture of Pakistan) in collaboration with UNESCO took the initiative to revitalize cultural traits, tangible as well as intangible, of rapidly deteriorating settlements in the Northern regions of Pakistan. Extensive studies, fieldwork, and documentation were carried out to analyze and investigate the intellectual diversity of the people living in these marginalized regions. Looking at the project, Safeguarding the Cultural Heritage of Kalash, and introducing historic sites as tourist attractions e.g. Gurdwara at Kartarpur this paper considers future paths for a more politically and economically stabilized Pakistan.
Presenters
Sadia KamranSr. Faculty, Art History, Governement College University Lahore, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Tourism, Leisure and Change: Transforming People and Places
KEYWORDS
Enlightenment, Cultural Heritage, Intellectual Diversity
