In the 1990s, in response to the invasion of the Soviet Communist Party and the subsequent Islamic power, the moudjahidines fought against foreign enemies and then fought against each other. These latest factions received help from the United States to fight the Soviet Union. The Taliban came to Afghanistan as a savior and got rid of moudjahidines. Saudi bin Laden became friends with the Taliban. Then, the World Trade Center attack occurred on September 11, 2001. Soon after the millennium began, two years after the United States liberated Afghanistan from Taliban rule, the country was still far from reaching any stable state.

This project aimed to contribute to the international debate on Afghanistan’s opening to democracy. 51 countries helped the United Nations create peace. By collaborating with local artisans, Inscrire promotes cultural reconstruction.

We believed in a Utopia: we wanted to create a ceramic project on the walls of the Kabul Stadium where the Taliban publicly executed. The walls and seats of the stadium were to be covered by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in local dialects Dari and Pashto. The workshop in Kabul functioned with local artisans who are reviving traditional ceramic tiles and calligraphy art.
Since 2001, our local partner, German journalist Britta Petersen, has been concentrating on working in Kabul, and she has also organized the feasibility and fundraising activities of the project. Her partner was the Afghanistan Media Center, an international non-governmental organization that aims to contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan in the field of education and science.

Democracy is not only a matter of money but it also requires a profound transformation of consciousness. After the communist dictatorship and Islamic terror, ideological Talibanization took place, which alienated the country’s culture. In addition to material reconstruction, Afghanistan also needed a cultural renaissance and an understanding of the Human Rights principles in a democratic modern country. There has been too much corruption.
Utopia is a nice word. We tried. The Taliban were on their way back. So in 2009, to assure her safety, Britta Pettersen had to leave Kaboul.

Britta Pettersen
Françoise Schein

Britta Petersen
The Media Center for Afghanistan used to be an NGO created by our local collaborators. Now it is governmental : GMIC
TEVTA training centre in Lahore in Pakistan
UNESCO training young potters in the old techniques of tile making in Herat

German Heinrich-Boell-Foundation