Carter Malik is the founder and director of the Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation. She is married to Khalid Malik

Khalid Malik

Khalid Malik is an international civil servant. He has a professional background in economics and has held a variety of senior management and substantive positions at the United Nations and United Nations Development Programme...

, United Nations Special Advisor to the United Nations Development Program with three children and lives in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

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Engagement at the Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation

Since the launch of the Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation in 2006 Ms. Malik travels to Shangri-la

Shangri-La County

Shangri-La County is a primarily Tibetan county in northwestern Yunnan province, Southwest China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.-Name:...

 several times a year to oversee the project work at the Handicraft Center in the old town, which aims to protect and promote cultural heritage

Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

, handicrafts, and eco-tourism in Shangri-La, Yunnan

Yunnan

Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

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The Handicraft Center is located in an old Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

an town house that accommodates a handicraft shop, craft workshop space, volunteer residence, and meeting rooms; and serves as a showcase for local indigenous crafts. The Center is a place where tourists can meet artisan

Artisan

An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...

s and village representatives, exchange information and learn more about the Shangri-la environs and craft traditions.

Following the idea to promote poverty alleviation, sustainable livelihood and job creation in local rural communities, Ms. Malik's engagement includes her participation at several conferences

Academic conference

An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...

 on the preservation of cultural assets of Shangri-la: Friends of Shangri-La 1 (2005) and Friends of Shangri-La 2 (2007), and the first National Parks Workshop (2006.)

Personal Background

Before launching the Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation Carter worked in sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism is tourism attempting to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the...

 and handicraft development projects in Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and China and has written several published articles on crafts including her contribution to Berg Encyclopedia of World Textiles on Uzbekistan’s famed textiles; History of Asian Embrodery: Uzbekistan’s Sousanis.