Austin, Texas, 30 October 2009 - Governor Rick Perry of Texas and His Highness the Aga Khan signed a historic agreement in Austin on 30 October 2009, to expand collaboration in the areas of education, health sciences, natural disaster preparedness and recovery, culture and the environment. ...
Aleppo, Syria, 18 October 2009 - Nineteen musicians from eight countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia participated in Remix Asia, a workshop and concert tour created in collaboration with the Aga Khan Music Initiative. ...
Alexandria, Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, 6-18 October, 2009 - What do nineteen musicians hailing from eight countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Eurasia have in common? That was the question that participants in Remix Asia strove to answer during an intensive, fortnight-long workshop and concert tour that ended in Aleppo, Syria on October 18. The participants included sixteen young ...
Central Asia, 14 October 2009 - In a short trip to the region, His Highness the Aga Khan reviewed progress on AKDN projects in Afghanistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan and met with President Zardari of Pakstan, President Karzai of Afghanistan and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. ...
14 October 2009 - Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) Afghanistan is currently implementing a Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The CBDRR project seeks to increase awareness and disaster-resilience in highly vulnerable communities by strengthening local capacity to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from ...
Afghanistan, 11 October 2009 - In Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) has been teaching people how to effectively form and mobilize community emergency response teams, basic first aid techniques and basic search and rescue practices. ...
Khorog, Tajikistan, 10 October 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, Tajikistan's First Deputy Prime Minister Asadullo Gulomov, and the Governor of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Qodiri Qosim, inaugurate the US$ 4 million restoration of Khorog City Park in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. ...
Khorog, Tajikistan, 10 October 2009 - Tajik Government dignitaries and officials from the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) today inaugurated a US$ 4 million urban park in Khorog, the main city of Tajikistan's mountainous Gorno-Badakshan Automomous Oblast (GBAO), which is situated on the border with Afghanistan. The park was officially opened by Tajikistan's Deputy Prime Minister Asadullo Gulomov in the presence ...
6 October 2009 - The South Asian earthquake of October 2005 devastated large parts of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control (LOC) as well as significant parts of the North West Frontier province in Pakistan. The death toll in Pakistan was around 73,000 (almost 30,000 children) with another 70,000 severely injured or disabled and 4 million made homeless. ...
Los Angeles, California, USA, 1 October 2009 - Key representatives from the Aga Khan Development Network joined 1,200 participants from more than 70 states, provinces and countries at the Governors' Global Climate Summit 2, held on September 29-October 2, 2009. The Summit is hosted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to deepen and broaden cooperative strategies by subnational governments and regional leaders ...
17 September 2009 - Penina Onyango, Head Teacher at Kawino Secondary School in Kisumu, Kenya, no longer awaits the arrival of Brown Onguko - her course facilitator at AKU's Institute for Educational Development, East Africa (AKU-IED, EA) - from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to help resolve her teaching challenges. Instead, she has a much better bargain: she can communicate with Onguko ...
Karachi, Pakistan, 11 September 2009 - The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd. (FMFB) recently signed an agreement with Harvard University to develop social performance indicators through a participatory approach whereby the poor articulate their needs and influence the Bank's creation of microfinance products and services. The ultimate aim of this project is to integrate the social performance indicators into the Bank's organisational performance ...
Zanzibar, 30 July 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan and His Excellency Dr Amani Abeid Karume, President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, presided over the ceremony that marked the completion of the restoration of Forodhani Park, the central meeting place in Stone Town, Zanzibar. ...
Zanzibar, 29 July 2009 - The $2.4 million restoration of Forodhani Park in Zanzibar's Historic Stone Town has been completed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).The revitalisation project has transformed the heavily used park - one of the last open spaces in this densely populated World Heritage Site - and upgraded social and recreational amenities in the historic Park. ...
East Africa, 28 July 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, accompanied by his daughter Princess Zahra, reviewed progress on various projects of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), including the US$ 50 million Heart and Cancer Centre of the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, the Aga Khan Hospitals in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, the development of the Aga ...
Zanzibar, 28 July 2009 - The US$2.4 million restoration of Forodhani Park in Zanzibar's Historic Stone Town, completed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), included the restoration of the walkways, landscape improvements, infrastructure upgrading including lighting, sewage, drainage and civic amenities and the rehabilitation of the seawall fronting the Park. ...
Nairobi, Kenya, 28 July 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, accompanied by his daughter Princess Zahra, reviewed progress on various projects of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), including the US$ 50 million Heart and Cancer Centre of the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, the Aga Khan Hospitals in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, the development of the Aga ...
Damascus, Syria, 23 July 2009 - The First MicroFinance Institution Syria (FMFI-S), KfW Entwicklungsbank and the State Planning Commission of Syria signed two financial agreements today. These agreements will expand FMFI-S's loan activities to the poorest inhabitants of Syria as well as to people in rural areas. "It is with great pleasure that FMFI-S signs this agreement with KfW and the ...
26 June 2009 - In June, students at the University of Central Asia's (UCA) School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE), Central Asia's first provider of formal, university-based, non-degree educational programmes, received certificates and awards for a number of disciplines, including accounting, mountain guiding and the teaching of English. The ceremonies in Dushanbe and Khorog also marked several milestones. SPCE's first ...
Geneva, Switzerland, 16 June 2009 - Focus Humanitarian Assistance (Pakistan) was selected by the Jury of the 2009 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction to receive a Certificate of Merit for enhancing disaster risk reduction. Chairman Amyn Dossa, together with the Executive Officer Ghulam Panjwani, received the award at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2nd forum, on behalf of ...
Cambridge, United Kingdom, 12 June 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, today received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Cambridge's Pembroke College - the third oldest of the Cambridge colleges. The Aga Khan becomes the first Muslim to receive ...
Cambridge, United Kingdom, 12 June 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, today received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Cambridge's Pembroke College - the third oldest of the Cambridge colleges. ...
Edmonton, Canada, 9 June, 2009 - The University of Alberta and the Aga Khan University today signed a memorandum of understanding that advances their respective goals to increase global engagement and to promote equitable human advancement and social justice throughout the world. The agreement was signed at Government House by University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera and Aga Khan University President ...
Edmonton, Canada, 8 June 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta on June 9th in recognition of his efforts to improve the lives of millions of the world's poorest people and build ...
Kalan Guzar, Afghanistan, 07 June 2009 - As Afghanistan struggles to rebuild a society which can supply its people's needs after years of conflict, one of the most widespread and persistent complaints is of corruption and the lack of accountability in government. Social audits, which are carried out with the agreement of the community development council and the community, allow local ...
Madrid, Spain, 4 June 2009- Inauguration of the exhibition "The Islamic Worlds in the Aga Khan Museum Collection" at CaixaForum Madrid. The aim of the exhibition, organised by "la Caixa" Social and Cultural Outreach Projects and devoted to ancient cultures, is to show how people from different times and places have confronted major global concerns and also to widen our own ...
Kabul and Bamyan, Afghanistan, 31 May 2009 - Roshan, the leading telecom operator in Afghanistan, today announced the expansion of its first-of-its-kind Telemedicine solution in Afghanistan beyond Kabul to include provincial hospitals. Bamyan Provincial Hospital will be the first provincial medical facility linked to the innovative Telemedicine project, which uses broadband technology, wireless video conferencing and digital image transfer, to provide ...
Paris, France, 28 May 2009 - France's Minister for Culture, Christine Albanel, honoured the Aga Khan with the titles ofGrand Patron (Grand Mécène) and Grand Donor (Grand Donateur) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cultural development in France through the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Chantilly Domain (Fondation pour la sauvegarde et le développement du domaine de ...
27 May 2009 - As part of the commemoration of the 15th anniversary since the establishment of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, the FOCUS Europe Board organised "An Evening with FOCUS" at the Ismaili Centre in London on Thursday 28th May. The evening included presentations by the Chairman of the FOCUS International Coordinating Committee, the Executive Officers of FOCUS Tajikistan and FOCUS Europe ...
Berlin, Germany, 15 May 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan arrived in Berlin yesterday for a two-day official visit to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul. ...
Berlin, Germany, 15 May 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan arrived in Berlin yesterday for a two-day official visit to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul. The meetings focused on the expansion of activities since the signing of an agreement in 2004 between the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) ...
Dubai, UAE, 12 May 2009 - The Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP), an initiative of Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS,P), was declared as one of the twelve winners of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices (DIABP). This is the first ever social project from Pakistan to receive this prestigious award in the fourteen year history of ...
Dubai, UAE - 12 May 2009 - The Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP), an initiative of Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS,P), was declared as one of the twelve winners of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices (DIABP). This is the first ever social project from Pakistan to receive this prestigious award in the fourteen year history ...
Lisbon, Portugal, 8 May 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan made a one-day visit to Portugal to meet with the His Eminence D. Jose Policarpo, the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon and Chancellor of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), and Portugal's Foreign Minister, Luis Amado. ...
Lisbon, Portugal, 8 May 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan made a one-day visit to Portugal to meet with the His Eminence D. Jose Policarpo, the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon and Chancellor of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), and Portugal's Foreign Minister, Luis Amado, amongst other senior officials. The Aga Khan was also invested as Foreign Member, Class of ...
29 April 2009 - For years, development institutions focused on narrowly defined goals - without much coordination with organisations outside their discipline. Many thought that rising incomes would lead to development. In AKDN's experience, however, income disparity is only one aspect of poverty. Other forms can be just as damaging: a lack of access to quality education, the inability to mitigate ...
Washington, USA, 23 April 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan delivered a keynote speech at the 8th annual Global Philanthropy Forum. The Aga Khan also met with The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Secretary of State, at the State Department prior to delivering the address to participants at the Global Philanthropy Forum. ...
21 April 2009 Why? Worldwide 200 million children under five years of age are not achieving their development potential due to poverty, poor health and nutrition, and lack of stimulation and learning opportunities. The vast majority of these children are from disadvantaged households and communities in low-income countries. Early childhood lays critical foundations for a person's entire life - a finding ...
17 April 2009 - The district of Surkh-e-Parsa lies at the upper end of the Ghorband Valley, not far from where the road begins to climb the bare hills to the Shibar Pass. Three green valleys converge at the district centre of Lolinj. The local people grow wheat and tend their fruit trees, but they have always been poor. For them, ...
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 9 April 2009 - Every year communities in the mountainous regions of Tajikistan are subject to natural hazards such as landslides and debris flows. In an effort to reduce the resulting risk run by those communities, the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Tajikistan and Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) signed an agreement to hydro-insulate a water channel in ...
