A new school to be built in Herat Province to remember Maria Grazia Cutuli, the Italian reporter killed in 2001 in Afghanistan

The groundbreaking ceremony for a school named after Maria Grazia Cutuli – the reporter of Corriere della Sera, the Italian leading newspaper, murdered in Afghanistan on 19 November 2001 – took place today in the District of Injil, near Herat.

The ceremony was attended by Herat’s deputy-governor, Mr. Asiluddin Jami, the chief of the education department, Gholam Hazrat Tanha and general Claudio Berto, ISAF Regional Command West’s commander.

The project will be implemented and funded by the Maria Grazia Cutuli Foundation, which includes the reporter’s family, the Italian Journalists Association and Corriere della Sera in addition to several institutions and partners. Contacts with local authorities were made possible by the joint action of the civilian and military components of ISAF’s Italian Provincial Reconstruction Team based in Herat.

The school compound will be established on a 2,000 square meters area, 650 of which for the 8-classroom and 2-level library building which will all be equipped with 50 computers donated by Corriere della Sera.

The project will also feature a botanic garden with 50 fruit-trees and courses of botanics implemented by GVC, a non-governmental organization.

While fulfilling the quality standards of the Afghan Education Authorities, this innovative project will also continue the spirit of Maria Grazia Cutuli’s research and work in Afghanistan.