Srinagar, Oct 8: A group of college students at Islamia College of Science and Commerce (ICSC), Srinagar, came together to explore Kashmir’s rich craft and cultural heritage, with a special focus on Srinagar’s recognition as a World Craft City.

The college auditorium hosted a creative conversation on the significance of Srinagar’s traditional crafts, their contemporary relevance and the opportunities and challenges confronting Kashmir’s craft heritage, particularly in the historic Old City.
The programme was organised by the Design and Innovation Cell (DIC), ICSC, in collaboration with EdRAAK, Srinagar, an initiative working in the fields of arts, crafts and heritage.
Held against the backdrop of the World Crafts Council’s recognition of Srinagar as a Craft City and the upcoming World Heritage Week, the interaction sought to connect the younger generation with Kashmir’s traditional knowledge, crafts, cuisine, fashion and oral traditions.
The initiative, part of EdRAAK’s series of creative conversations, encouraged Gen Z participants to explore the “Essence of Being Kashur” through personal experiences, discussions and direct engagement with traditional crafts. Students also walked through the lanes of the Old City and explored displays showcasing Kashmir’s craft and culinary heritage.
The programme was inaugurated by ICSC Principal Aijaz Ahmad Hakak, who highlighted the college’s efforts to encourage young people to take an active interest in arts, crafts and heritage.
He said initiatives such as EdRAAK Naqsh-o-Nigar help sensitise students to the significance of Srinagar’s World Craft City status and thanked EdRAAK for creating platforms to engage the younger generation with Kashmir’s artistic traditions.
Dr Zahoor Ahmad Jhat, Head of the Department and Head of the Design and Innovation Cell, emphasised the importance of international recognition for Kashmir’s crafts. He said the collaboration with EdRAAK was aimed at creating meaningful conversations around art, design and heritage while encouraging students to develop creative ideas.
S Iliyas Rizvi, Craft and Heritage Consultant, student of Papier-Mâché at the Design and Innovation Cell, Central University of Kashmir, and founder of EdRAAK, presented Srinagar: The Craft City.
Rizvi said such sessions could help the younger generation understand Kashmir’s cultural identity and make greater use of Srinagar’s World Craft City recognition to promote its crafts globally.
He stressed the need to take craft education beyond conventional classrooms and mentorship, noting that traditional symbols and practices are gradually disappearing. He cited Nadma, a traditional woollen textile furnishing of Kashmir, as one such heritage element requiring greater attention and preservation.
“The WCC recognition is a huge opportunity to position Kashmir on the craft map of the world,” he said.
Rizvi said contemporary methods and digital platforms should be used to engage young people with Kashmir’s traditions, lifestyle, cuisine and cultural expressions.
NIFT graduate and visiting faculty at the Design and Innovation Cell, Jasirah Qadri, spoke on Branding Kashur Crafts, stressing the need to involve younger generations in marketing and promoting traditional handmade skills.
She said preserving heritage must go beyond celebration and should create avenues for young people to develop stories, identities and sustainable opportunities around traditional crafts.
Internationally recognised Papier-Mâché master craftsman Ustaad Syed Sajjad Hamedani, who teaches the craft at ICSC, interacted with students on the importance of recognising master artisans and creating platforms that bring lesser-known craftspeople into the mainstream.
Nadiya Zehra, who works with EdRAAK on arts and heritage documentation, highlighted the importance of providing young people platforms to showcase their creative ideas and perspectives on Kashmir’s crafts.
Mir Nabeeena, a postgraduate student and Pashmina entrepreneur, shared her journey of reconnecting with her family’s Pashmina business. Drawing on her background in botany, she spoke about sustainability concerns and the need to protect the Pashmina ecosystem from future overexploitation.
Reyan-ul-Rafiq, founder of Tczoung’e Tou’el and a student of the Design and Innovation Cell, spoke about the growing interest among young people in reviving cultural spaces and traditional crafts. His online initiative promotes crochet and hand-knitted products while challenging conventional gender stereotypes associated with such crafts.
Muneeb, an MBA student working on Kani Pashmina, stressed the importance of connecting artisans with younger generations and ensuring that skilled craftspeople receive fair wages and better livelihood opportunities.
EdRAAK (Educational Revival through Arts and Aesthetics in Kashmir) has been conducting heritage and photo walks, arts and crafts workshops and other creative interventions for children and young people for over a decade.
Its multidisciplinary initiatives seek to combine technology with traditional knowledge and create contemporary platforms for cultural engagement.
The interaction at ICSC underscored the need to make Kashmir’s craft heritage relevant to the younger generation while creating new opportunities for artisans, entrepreneurs and designers to take the region’s traditional skills to wider audiences.