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  • The Khorog Campus of the University of Central Asia.
    The Ismaili | 24 April 2020 | Global

    UCA launches open competition for designers and composers

    The Khorog Campus of the University of Central Asia. Photo: UCA
  • One of the design criteria for UCA’s graduation gowns and caps is the desirability of maintaining some consistency with the regalia of the Aga Khan University.
    The Ismaili | 24 April 2020 | Global

    UCA launches open competition for designers and composers

    One of the design criteria for UCA’s graduation gowns and caps is the desirability of maintaining some consistency with the regalia of the Aga Khan University. Photo: AKU
  • Musical composition entries must reflect Central Asian musical traditions and tunes and played with traditional musical instruments of the region.
    The Ismaili | 24 April 2020 | Global

    UCA launches open competition for designers and composers

    Musical composition entries must reflect Central Asian musical traditions and tunes and played with traditional musical instruments of the region. Photo: AKMI

The University of Central Asia (UCA) is seeking talented and creative artists, designers, musicians, and composers to propose a new graduation gown and cap, and convocation theme music, in preparation for the inaugural convocation of UCA’s first undergraduate class.

The final selected graduation regalia and special convocation anthem will be enshrined in UCA’s history, and will feature at graduation ceremonies and other UCA events attended by the University’s leadership, special guests, faculty, and graduates, for decades to come. The competition also comes with a monetary award.

Founded in 2000 by Mawlana Hazar Imam and the Presidents of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, the University of Central Asia is a unique institution of higher education focused on the development of mountain societies.

Taking place in 2021, the inaugural convocation ceremony will be a historical event as the University’s first undergraduate students of the School of Arts and Sciences will graduate. Students at UCA come from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.

Therefore, the hope is for the graduation regalia and convocation music to reflect the diverse cultures and tastes of these countries and regions. In addition, the regalia of the Aga Khan University can be a point of reference, having been developed within the historical context of academic robes in several settings, including Muslim Societies.

The music composition and regalia design selection committees are looking for established artists who are familiar with the cultural nuances of each region where UCA has a presence, and possess the requisite skills to create a fusion of traditional contemporary motifs into a cosmopolitan whole.

The regalia competition’s submissions are in three stages, with the first submission due on 30 April 2020.

For more information on how to participate, please visit the UCA website:
Graduation regalia
Convocation music