A gap to fill
Afghanistan has no cultural centre in France, and neither does the Afghan embassy. The Afghan diaspora, one of the largest refugee communities in France, has no place to come together and pass on its culture.
The Centre
Why an Afghan Cultural Centre in Paris?
Many countries have a cultural centre in Paris. Afghanistan, linked to France for more than a century, does not. We want to fill this gap.
Our reasons
Five reasons to act
Changing the image of Afghanistan
Introducing the French public to a country of poetry, music, crafts and hospitality, beyond the clichés of war.
Passing it on to children born in France
Many speak Dari or Pashto at home but cannot read or write it. Little by little, they lose their connection with their grandparents, their history and their literature.
Giving Afghan women a voice
Since the Taliban's return in 2021, women have been excluded from school, university, work and public life. In Paris, they must be able to speak, exhibit and create.
Welcoming and supporting
Many recently arrived Afghans live in reception centres, without the right to work. The Centre wants to offer them a place of encounter, support and dignity.
What we will do
The six pillars of the Centre
A place open to Afghan women and men, to their children born in France, to local residents and to everyone who wants to discover Afghanistan in a different light. Led by EAA, it is open to other Afghan associations.
Arts & culture
Exhibitions, concerts, poetry evenings. A place where Afghan artists — in France and in exile — exhibit, perform and meet: painting, photography, calligraphy, crafts.
The voice of Afghan women
Meetings, debates, testimonies and exhibitions on the situation of women in Afghanistan. Here, they speak out.
Welcome & administrative support
Help with paperwork, guidance, and a meeting place for people living in reception centres.
Learning
French classes for newcomers; Dari and Pashto classes for children born in France; calligraphy, music and digital skills workshops.
Chai Khana: tea house & library
As in Afghan tea houses: a cup of tea, a book, a conversation. A library in Dari, Pashto and French.
Media space
News about Afghanistan in French, Dari and Pashto; a media outlet for women and one for children; a studio where activists record their messages.
An idea born in 2018
The Chai Khana, tea house and library
In Afghanistan, the tea house — chai khana — is where people meet to debate and listen to poetry and music. This idea was already at the heart of our 2018 project.
- A meeting place: Afghans and French people come to read, talk, play chess and learn a few words of each other's language.
- A refuge for those who are waiting: asylum seekers who are not yet allowed to work can spend time there, warm and in good company.
- “Suspended tea”: a customer pays in advance for a tea for someone without means.
- A living library: Afghan authors, translations, children's books, readings and book clubs in Dari, Pashto and French.
Our values
- A place for all Afghans, beyond ethnic, religious and political differences: Hazaras, Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and all other communities.
- A place open to all residents, to show another face of Afghanistan.
- Dignity, equality between women and men, peace and respect for the environment.
- Independence: the Centre does not cooperate with the Taliban de facto authorities, who ban music and exclude women from public life.
A bond of more than a century
France and Afghanistan
The two countries have rarely crossed paths in history, yet a strong friendship unites them. It is this relationship that we want to highlight and strengthen.
1922
The DAFA
The French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan is founded; it went on to make major discoveries, notably in the Balkh (Bactra) region.
Kabul
The Esteqlal and Malalai high schools
Two Franco-Afghan high schools in Kabul, still among the country's leading schools.
Literature
Books that travel
Great French authors have been translated into Persian; the Afghan poet and philosopher Sayd Bahodine Majrouh lived in France.
Our ambitions
Where we are heading
International reach
Holding an annual event at UNESCO around Nawroz or Yalda, both inscribed on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and working with the Afghan embassy in France.
A documentation centre
A library that will eventually become the documentation centre on Afghanistan that France still lacks, along with a trilingual French, Persian and Pashto journal.
The Cultural Citadel of Afghanistan
In the long term, a major permanent cultural venue in the Paris region.
Youth and diaspora
A congress of young Afghans, a media outlet for Afghan children around the world, youth exchanges in Europe.
