We are all aware that the walled city of Ahmedabad has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage city and indeed it is a very worthy and valuable designation for this historic city and its residents. However, we know that there is significant amount of work that needs to be carried out to maintain the values that has fetched us this recognition.

We take immense pleasure to invite you to the forum on the historic city of Ahmedabad and its way forward in managing and envisaging its heritage. We believe that your presence and thoughts on the city of Ahmedabad would be highly valuable to this forum. We would be also seeking important inputs from various other experts and eminent citizens of Ahmedabad.

Trade & Commerce as ‘Heritage’:

Gujarat for more than two thousand years has been a centre of trade and textile exports. Its traders and financiers, not its royal officials, nor its landholders and chieftains, nor even its Brahmins, set the tone of society in Gujarat long before modern times and made business valued and more than normally respectable for all. The Gujaratis are perhaps the least other-worldly of

all the Indian people. They constitute integral part of our Heritage and have been the culture of our city.

With this goal in mind, FAAA is trying to initiate a forum Ahmedabad: India’s 1st World Heritage City, Importance of Trade & Commerce in its Cultural Evolution aimed at creating an opportunity for people to deliberate and discuss issues related to the heritage and the future of the city. The main focus of this forum would be to create a platform where various purposeful ideas and issues are prioritized to meet the challenges of the city. We also propose that this forum becomes the 'think tank' which helps AMC in its efforts to implement the Heritage Management Plan.

About GCCI: The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry is the apex trade & Industry Body in the state of Gujarat. Founded in 1949, the Chamber represents over 4000 Direct Members which includes more than 250 associations and Chambers affiliated to it. GCCI’s Indirect Membership includes over 2 Lac members from across the state of Gujarat.

About FAAA: FAAA is the Alumni Association of Faculty of Architecture, Ahmedabad. The primary purpose of FAAA is to support and promote the interests of the students of architecture and academicians of allied fields.