Dhaka Roundup: Aga Khan Academy visit, Heritage Cycle Rally, and Korail community platform
Dhaka featured in educational diplomacy, cultural celebration and architecture this week. The Maldivian ambassador visited the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka to strengthen educational ties, a Heritage Cycle Rally brought residents together to celebrate the city's history and culture, and Bangladeshi architecture firm Paraa received international recognition from ArchDaily for their Machan community platform in the Korail settlement.
🎓 Maldives envoy visits Aga Khan Academy Dhaka
The Maldivian ambassador to Bangladesh paid an official visit to the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka, according to the United News of Bangladesh. The visit reflects growing educational and diplomatic engagement between the Maldives and Bangladesh, with the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka serving as a flagship institution of the Aga Khan Development Network's global education programme. The Aga Khan Academy Dhaka provides the International Baccalaureate curriculum and serves students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, including scholarship recipients from underrepresented communities. The ambassador's visit signals the Maldives' interest in the Academy's model of internationally recognised education with an emphasis on pluralism, ethics and community service. The Aga Khan Development Network operates schools, universities and other development institutions across South and Central Asia, East Africa and the Middle East, making its Dhaka Academy a symbol of multilateral cooperation in human development. The visit also underscores the strong educational and cultural linkages between South Asian nations in building regional capacity for equitable and high-quality schooling. [5]
🪔 Dhaka Heritage Cycle Rally celebrates city's history and culture
A Heritage Cycle Rally was held in Dhaka to celebrate the city's rich history and cultural heritage, according to the United News of Bangladesh. The rally brought together cyclists and heritage enthusiasts in a public event designed to raise awareness of Dhaka's historic landmarks, architectural legacy and the cultural traditions that define the city's identity. Dhaka, one of the oldest cities in South Asia and a centre of Mughal Bengal, has a layered heritage that spans centuries of Hindu, Muslim and colonial history. Events such as the Heritage Cycle Rally are part of a growing civic movement to reconnect Dhaka's residents — particularly younger generations — with the city's past amid rapid urbanisation that has placed many historic structures under threat. The rally also encouraged eco-friendly mobility, with cycling framed as both a cultural and environmental statement. Organisers said the event aimed to make heritage accessible and enjoyable rather than confined to museums, by taking participants through the city's historic neighbourhoods and past its architectural treasures on two wheels. [6]
🤝 Paraa's Machan platform wins ArchDaily recognition for Korail settlement community space
Bangladeshi architecture firm Paraa has received international recognition from ArchDaily for the Machan community platform built in Dhaka's Korail settlement, one of the city's largest urban settlements. The Machan project, featured in ArchDaily's architecture coverage, creates a raised communal space within the dense settlement that serves as a gathering place, market, and community facility for residents who have limited access to public infrastructure. Paraa is known for its socially responsive practice that centres the needs of marginalised communities in the design process. The Korail settlement houses tens of thousands of residents in precarious conditions, and projects like Machan demonstrate how thoughtful architecture and community participation can provide meaningful improvements to the built environment even within severe resource constraints. The ArchDaily feature brings international attention to Dhaka's growing architectural scene and to the work of local firms committed to design that serves the public good rather than purely commercial or elite interests, offering a model that practitioners in other rapidly urbanising cities in the Global South may find instructive. [1]
Sources: [5] United News of Bangladesh · [6] United News of Bangladesh · [1] ArchDaily