KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- The winners of Afghanistan's first carpet design competition were announced June 22 at a ceremony in Kabul.  Some 30 designers submitted more than 80 designs that were judged by carpet industry experts in Afghanistan, India, Germany and the United States.

The competition was held to highlight the importance of carpet design for the future development of the Afghan carpet sector and to encourage the revival of a culture of design innovation, according to the competition's organizers.

Participants included both professional designers working in Afghanistan's carpet industry and students of Kabul University's Faculty of Fine Arts. 

Winners were selected from submissions made in three categories: classical, tradition revisited, and contemporary.

• The classical category sought traditional designs that are commonly associated with €˜oriental carpets' from different parts of the world.

• The tradition revisited category encouraged participants to use familiar elements of traditional Afghan carpets in unexpected ways.

• The contemporary category challenged the designers to reinvent the entire notion of what a carpet should look like.

The Afghanistan Carpet Design Contest was launched in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 11, 2006 at the Afghan Carpet Exporters Guild, a carpet business association.  Participants were given three weeks to develop their designs according to specific guidelines. The awards were presented at the Aina Media and Culture Center by the Acting Minister of Information, Culture, Tourism and Youth, and the Deputy Minister of Commerce. A special award was given to the best student entry.

Winners were:

Tradition Revisited

 Winner: Ghulam Haider Sarfrazi
Honorable mention: Rajab Ali Malik Zada

Classic

Winner: Mohammad Asif Sheirzad
Honorable Mention: Friddon Khaliqi

Contemporary

Winner: Hamedullah Shah Ghasi
Honorable mention: Mohammad Reza Saifi

Student entries:

Honorable mention: Allah Mohammad Taib Frotan
and Susan Abdali

The international panel of judges included a group of Afghanistan carpt producers and design experts,  the European Carpet Importers Association of Germany, The Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, The National Institute of Design of India, The International Design Guild, based in the USA, The Oriental Rug Importers Association of the USA, and Rugnews.com, the international Internet business magazine.

The Afghanistan Carpet Design Contest, Exhibition and Award were co-sponsored by the Afghan Women's Business Federation, Aina Media & Culture Center, and USAID.

The Afghanistan Carpet Design Contest is an initiative of the Afghanistan Carpet Committee, a public-private leadership organization chaired by the Ministry of Commerce.

The Afghanistan Carpet Committee was established by the Ministry of Commerce with the support of the OTF Group. The OTF Group is working in Afghanistan on a USAID-sponsored project to build the competitiveness of Afghanistan's key export sectors.

7.6.06