THAAP Heritage is a dedicated organization within the THAAP Group which focuses on all matters related to Heritage and Culture. THAAP Heritage, formerly known as THAAP Culture and Development Program, has brought together, on a dedicated platform, the highly experienced & acknowledged professionals in the field of Heritage and Culture. THAAP Heritage has been co-founded and is jointly led by Prof. Pervaiz Vandal and Prof. Sajida Vandal, bringing to this platform their multifaceted expertise including architecture, urban design and planning, project management as well as development of master/management plans for heritage sites, conservation and safeguarding of built and intangible assets and such others. Working closely with other organizations in the THAAP Group, to create the required synergy for a multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted field concerning heritage and culture, THAAP Heritage can call upon any of the professionals in the sister organizations to contribute to providing excellent service.
THAAP Heritage (erstwhile Culture & Development Program) has been working in the field of Culture and Heritage since 2007. It has developed a unique expertise of approaching culture in its totality, and providing solutions which are sensitive to identity, intangible cultural heritage or the living culture and the cultural expressions with particular focus of safeguarding, protecting and promoting the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Pakistani communities. Be it the unique built assets found in many of the historic locales or the vibrant living heritage of communities. In its right based approach THAAP Heritage is dedicated to further the mission of the Group towards safeguarding and protecting heritage respecting people’s inalienable right to their own culture in all its various expressions, the tangible and intangibles including language.
THAAP Heritage acts as a resource for advisement and consultancy to organizations in the public and private sector and the international support and funding community to carry out projects within the framework of its scope of services and to evaluate existing projects and develop new initiatives for funding. Its pool of experienced multi-faceted experts liaises with scholars and researchers of the Group to engage in the discourse on culture, art, architecture and other fields of current interest to meet the challenges faced by the Pakistani Nation. THAAP Heritage also maintains a pool of associates who participate in projects as and when needed.
THAAP Heritage indulges in contemporary and heritage based solutions resonating the demands of each assignment. It follows the concept of culture being intrinsically linked to fundamental human rights and sustainable development for the wellbeing of communities and poverty alleviation. By highlighting the value of culture in the development process, THAAP Heritage addresses the core issue of harnessing culture as a vehicle for development through a community based and people-centered approach, and with focus on women and marginalized practitioners and groups. Thus, THAAP Heritage is a means to develop and implement projects and programs which address the complexities of the culture sector in support of the THAAP Mission.
THAAP Heritage Approach
The Approach followed by THAAP Heritage is laid on some cardinal principles reflective of the pride in one’s cultural heritage, respect for the cultural diversity and the democratic and rights approach that form the corner stone of the THAAP Group.
The following Cardinal Principles permeates our Approach
- Professionalism in all works assigned to THAAP Heritage;
- Timely delivery of Work assignment. Strengthening the meticulous attention to detail and high quality;
- Innovative and culturally sensitive solutions which are a hallmark of the Group;
- Working within financial parameters and constraints as set by the client;
- Incorporating a People’s Centric Approach in urban area rejuvenation;
- Social & Economic Empowerment of Communities in all projects where communities are involved using tried and tested methodologies.
Efficient Management and Timely Delivery
THAAP Heritage since its inception has maintained a horizontal organizational structure through engaging various sectoral experts from the fields of culture and art. These specialists play a central role in developing internal strategies starting from the planning to the execution stage of the project in addition to ensuring that interests of the community are well represented at each stage of the project. To ensure effective implementation of a program, project managers are selected according to their core expertise. Teams are organized under the project managers as per the requirement of the project and its deliverables e.g., teams in projects seeking to build capacity are organized in a structure that is very different from those aiming to map cultural assets etc. In addition, partners are identified and engaged based on the expertise required for the project.
THAAP’s Role in Culture and Heritage sector
THAAP Heritage has worked towards social and economic empowerment of the underprivileged village communities especially women by promoting their participation in the economic growth of communities through entrepreneurship and capacity building initiatives, mainly by enhancing non-agricultural income generation opportunities to uplift the village economy. Other programs under Culture and Development include safeguarding of Intangible and Tangible cultural heritage through community led initiatives, transmitting of cultural knowledge to the youth and development of cultural and creative industries.
THAAP’s youth program aims to engage youth in safeguarding heritage and promotes intergenerational transfer of cultural knowledge in education and learning using methodologies which THAAP Heritage has developed over the years. This includes collaborating with ICH tradition and knowledge bearers as well practitioners, linking them to the schools and other innovative ways of fusing cultural knowledge in the formal and informal learning systems. THAAP also maintains a pool of associates who participate in projects as and when needed.
The following Cardinal Principles permeates our Approach
- Professionalism in all works assigned to THAAP Heritage;
- Timely delivery of Work assignment. Strengthening the meticulous attention to detail and high quality;
- Innovative and culturally sensitive solutions which are a hallmark of the Group;
- Working within financial parameters and constraints as set by the client;
- Incorporating a People’s Centric Approach in urban area rejuvenation;
- Social & Economic Empowerment of Communities in all projects where communities are involved using tried and tested methodologies.
