Heba Hashmi Email & Phone Number

Dublin, Ie

Established HACRA - the Heritage, Archaeology and Cultural Research Associates. HACRA is a research organisation dedicated to investigating and preserving cultural heritage and archaeology in Pakistan.Leading a team of experts in the field of heritage and archaeology, with capabilities including heritage management, research, excavations, maritime archaeology, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and GIS.Spearheading business development, partnerships, communications, and project development for an agile and tech-based company, aiming to uplift the discipline of archaeology in Pakistan. Hoping to sustainably empower local communities - the true custodians of our shared heritage.

Karāchi, Sindh, Pakistan

- Co-founded Pakistan’s first research organisation dedicated to the academic and field-based study of maritime archaeology, leading all management, research, training and capacity-building activities. - Principal Investigator on the Inventory of Maritime Archaeology in Pakistan (IMAP), currently conducting a two-year Pilot Project to document endangered archaeological sites along the Sindh coastline. - Leading business development and outreach with local and international funding bodies to support IMAP and other MAHI initiatives. Secured a total of GBP 1.7 million in funding for multiple phases of IMAP between 2021-2023, primarily from the Arcadia Fund (UK). - Spearheading organisational compliance, HR and finance matters for MAHI.

Pakistan

Working with AVPN to bring together a cohort of Pakistani funders, donors, philanthropists and impact investors, to move capital towards the health and safety, education, economic empowerment and leadership of women and girls in Pakistan.

Banbhore, Sindh

I worked in collaboration with Dr. Valeria Piacentini and her team as part of the Italian Historical-Archaeological Mission in Pakistan (Banbhore, Sindh). Apart from training and assisting with excavation, survey and documentation work on site, I am conducting research on locating the possible harbour structures of the ancient port of Debal, as a basis for my PhD.

Lahore, Pakistan

As Project Development Officer, I:- Coordinated the Silk Roads Responsible Tourism Initiative, which included 22 projects spread over 4 Strategic Change Objectives to be implemented by 4 AKDN agencies. This involved maintaining a detailed Reporting Framework for all KPIs, preparing an Implementation Plan with a scope of work for each agency, conducting a Baseline Assessment Exercise in the field and producing 23 detailed, GIS-based itineraries of natural and cultural heritage sites across Gilgit-Baltistan-Chitral.- Played an integral part in establishing a centralised Grant Management System (MS Dynamics NAV) that captured the live status of grants across the AKTC country network. This involved assessing the old software to identify potential for improvement, importing and corroborating all archival data into the new software and standardising grant terminology across the software. The resulting automated GMS minimised the errors of manual field reports, streamlined communication with the head office, and allowed for a detailed analysis of fundraising trends across the AKTC network over the last 30 years.- Coordinated and prepared two annual reports for the Parks Impact Measurement System, which involved analysing and graphically representing large amounts of raw data collected from visitor surveys, identifying trends from previous cycles, and disseminating the results to the park managers in each country for quality improvement. Also coordinated a meeting between the Geneva team and the park managers from Afghanistan, Mali and Egypt to revise the questionnaire in order to obtain more accurate data points and facilitate better communication.

Lahore

As Heritage Coordinator of AKCSP, my role was multifaceted and encompassed a diverse range of activities. The projects I helped design include: - Conceptual planning of the Summer Palace Museum in the Lahore Fort, as part of a revamped Visitor Management System for the World Heritage Site. This project included the digital cataloguing of all artefacts of the Lahore Fort, which will be curated for display in the new museum. - Publication of a series of illustrated children's folk stories from Gilgit-Baltistan, to be circulated via the Aga Khan Foundation's School Improvement Programme in local community libraries and schools.- Prototyping the conservation of the Lahore Fort Picture Wall mural, which included extensive research on the structure, use and thermodynamics of the building, and the organisation of an international workshop on facade conservation with renowned conservators training the local team. - As Manager Monitoring and Evaluation, I was responsible for the preparation of monthly reports on progress of site activities.- I coordinated all research, publications and communications activities in the organisation, which included the preparation of manuscripts for publication, various project briefs and interpretation panels for projects in the Walled City of Lahore and Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as the submission of regular press releases and articles in print and social media. - I helped formulate a preliminary policy paper on the conservation of glazed tile mosaics, for the two unique contexts of the Lahore Fort Picture Wall and the Wazir Khan Mosque. This included an analysis of existing philosophical concerns with the authenticity of newly-fabricated tiles, as opposed to minimally invasive techniques that compromise the aesthetic integrity of the monument. - In April 2016, I prepared a nomination dossier for the Shahi Hammam for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, which received an Award of Merit in September 2016.

Karachi

As Assistant Director of EFT, I worked on the documentation of heritage sites across Sindh, and assisted with the curation of exhibitions and visitor activities at the Mohatta Palace Museum. My key responsibilities included: - Conducted Archaeological Building Recording and Investigation projects in Sindh province with the Centre for Documentation and Conservation, with a focus on participatory planning. Sites included the historic centers of Kot Diji, Ranikot and the Karachi Press Club.- Compiled a 5-year report on the sites documented and preserved by the EFT, as well as other educational and dissemination activities. This included a critical evaluation of EFT's work within the academic framework of heritage preservation.- Assisted in the research and curation of MPM's exhibition A Flower from Every Meadow on the textile heritage of Pakistan. This included writing and designing the interpretation, branding the exhibition, liaising with nine premiere fashion designers who were contributing work, and managing the PR and marketing campaign.- Organised a 'Heritage Tour' and seminar in Shikarpur, which was featured on WMF's World Monuments Watch 2014. Besides overseeing logistics, I moderated the discussion, presented the recommendations at the seminar, and compiled a report of the day's proceedings with a 3-month follow-up activity plan for the local high school. - Curated MPM's online exhibitions on the Google Cultural Institute's Art Project, which included writing the online interpretation and coordinating photography of the objects. - Pioneered MPM's film club in collaboration with and in support of a local film archive dedicated to Pakistani cinema from the 1960s-1980s.

Master Of Arts (Ma), Cultural Heritage Studies/Managing Archaeological Sites

Dissertation title: 'Living with the dead | Managing values and intangible heritage on the Makli Necropolis' Awarded a distinction.

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba) (Hons), Combined Honours In The Arts (History, English, History Of Art)