Stamps for Aga Khan awards

Stamps for Aga Khan awards

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday signed a series of stamps to mark today's presentation of the Aga Khan awards for architecture at the Royal Palace in Surakarta (Solo).

The commemorative stamps will be formally launched today.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, visited the President at the Merdeka Palace yesterday on the eve of the ceremony.

During the meeting, he was accompanied by Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro and the chairman of the Association of Indonesian architects, Suntana.

One of the 12 awards will be presented to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport for its landscape design.

The awards were established in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies.

They recognizes examples of architectural excellence throughout the Muslim world in the areas of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, land restoration and re-use, conservation and landscape design.

Accompanying Aga Khan on this visit is his daughter, Princess Zahra Aga Khan who is responsible within the Aga Khan's secretariat for programs supported by the Ismail Muslim community relating to social welfare, youth and women's activities.

Previous projects in Indonesia that have won the award include the Kampung Improvement Project in Jakarta and Kampung Kali Code in Yogyakarta. (emb)