Originally created in 2003 by Linda Mazur, the Afghanistan Cultural Profile served as a pilot for the Cultural Profiles hosted by Visiting Arts. Financial support from the British Council Afghanistan in 2009 brought the Afghanistan Cultural Profile back online. It was updated, expanded and relaunched in 2011 in a partnership between the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), Afghanistan and Visiting Arts funded by the Government of Norway.

Targeted at cultural professionals, the Afghanistan Cultural Profile offers a sector-by-sector guide to the arts, media, libraries, archives and tourism sectors in Afghanistan which is also useful to cultural tourists. Each sectoral overview is combined with a database of contact organisations, making it possible for the reader not only to learn about what is happening in a particular cultural sector, but also to make direct contact with the people working in it.

Entries in the database are free of charge. Organisations already represented in the Afghanistan Cultural Profile are expected to update their entries as the need arises. Organisations active in the cultural sector in Afghanistan which are not yet represented in the Afghanistan Cultural Profile are welcome to contact the Project Officer for information on how to receive an entry.