I’m really excited to share my interview with Dr. Laura Tedesco, the Cultural Heritage Program Manager for The State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and the star of the Monuments Woman Podcast, about her extraordinary journey to preserve Afghanistan’s cultural heritage sites.
As you can imagine, when an Afghan catches up with an old friend that conversation is not going to be short so we cut the interview into two parts.
In part one, we cover a wide range of topics from how Laura had to put on full Afghan wedding-style makeup to appear on an Afghan TV show to her quick ramp-up of cultural diplomacy in Afghanistan and the diversity of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage sites.
I met Laura jan (as I call her) on my second trip to Afghanistan in 2011. Her quiet mannerism, a little like an Afghan, made me immediately conclude that she is one of the good guys (well women) doing good work against all the destruction that Afghanistan had endured for the previous three decades.
U.S. State Department Public Diplomacy Delegation, Forward Operating Base, Ghazni, Afghanistan (2011). 5th from left: Humaira Ghilzai; 3rd from right: Laura Tedesco. Photo courtesy Humaira Ghilzai.
In part 2 of our conversation, we talk about cultural heritage preservation work, how Afghans in the diaspora can learn about Afghanistan’s cultural heritage sites, and of course Afghan food.
I hope you have a chance to watch our conversations, and meet my friend Laura jan the reluctant star of the Monuments Woman Podcast. Please help me get the word out about Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage site by sharing these videos with five of your friends. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about Afghanistan and its rich history and cultural heritage and whether you found this conversation engaging.