The message of [Cairo's] skyline is the question of whether the inherited institutions and the presence of places of worship are important, or whether it is the urban growth that is going to dominate people's perception of city life? The Western world has gone through the same process: church towers became insignificant buildings. That may not be a healthy way of ...
The existence of the Park is proof of brotherhood, proof of aspiration towards moving towards a common goal which is to create in Cairo a place which is beautiful where all generations could find happiness and peace, where all people from different economic levels could feel comfortable as they perambulate throughout this space.... And I want to assure you that until ...
A fundamental lesson, which reinforced our experience in other countries, is that public-private partnerships can be effective mechanisms for enhancing the value of underused, unappreciated or even unknown social, cultural and economic assets.... A second fundamental lesson is that when embarking on a project of this complexity we must be prepared for the unpredictability of discovery. There will be delays and ...
Through linkages between the Schools of Medicine and Nursing of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Aga Khan University, and the Aga Khan teaching hospital in Nairobi, we are building here in Dar-es Salaam a regional hub of quality medical and nursing services. This hospital will be part of what amounts to a regional teaching hospital network.... Post Graduate Medical ...
The students at this institution will be distinguished not only for their academic capacity, but for their character and their commitment to citizenship.... The students who come here will be exceptional because they will have capabilities and character that make them stand out from their peers. And we will ensure through scholarships that exceptional students will be admitted even if they ...
It is my hope that through our micro-finance programmes we will eventually create a virtuous circle of income generation in which the poor -- half of the world's population -- will break out of their economic and social exclusion and achieve a level of self-reliance that allows them, in turn, to help those less fortunate. His Highness the Aga Khan today ...
The Aga Khan Development Network agencies have been involved in micro-credit for more than 60 years. During that time, a variety of institutions offering a range of products tailored to specific needs have been established in many countries.... We have also extended loans for education and health care, which we believe can be important ways to break down the barriers to ...
[Translation] I confess that I am obsessed with time and each day I remind myself that my rare free moments must be devoted to preparing for the future. After all, life is fragile. God calls us whenever He sees fit. If I had to take stock of my life, my feeling would be that I have structured the Ismaili Imamat, for ...
Today, the absence of public spaces in the Islamic world is something of major concern to me. And, Charles, you were talking about city planning. I think we are, generally speaking, in the Islamic world still very weak on landscape architecture and planning. We will need to do a lot more there. A number of architectural schools actually are linked to ...
I profoundly believed that architecture is not just about building; it is a means of improving people's quality of life.... I am pleased that 28 years later, we have had some success in achieving our original goals [of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture]. We are gratified that so many others now are engaged in the cause. We have created a ...
Ladies and gentlemen, some 30 years [ago] I began to question why architecture in the modern Islamic world seemed to have lost touch with the great achievements of its past. I began working with leading architects, philosophers, artists, teachers, historians and thinkers -- from all religious faiths -- to establish an Award for Architecture.... Now some 28 years later, the extent ...
As we move forward it is important for us to accept that we are a community of people interested in building environments for Muslims in different parts of the world. We are looking at creating inspiring value systems which our societies and our professionals will be able to look to and to say to themselves, with these value systems we can ...
Two postage stamps to commemmorate the Agra Fort were released here today by Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Shakeel Ahmed. One of the two Rs 15 denomination stamps depicts the Amar Singh Gate of the fort while the other shows the Khas Mahal. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Culture, Jaipal Reddy and the Aga Khan ...
I think one of the specifics of Islam is that you live your faith. And you are not one day in your faith and the next day out of your faith. It is a permanent presence. It is a presence which brings you happiness. It brings you objectives in life and therefore, I don't think that one can make this sort ...
The past cannot be repeated. By copying it, it proves that one cannot do better. By repeating the past, by designing the same thing is not the solution. Modernity cannot be denied. How do we merge the two? That is continuity. We can't ask people to live in mud houses. We have to come up with new solutions. The award tries ...
The issues we have been attempting to address through the process of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture are not exclusive to the Muslim world. The non-Muslim world struggles equally with explosive population growth, poverty, environmental degradation, exodus from rural areas, globalisation and the impact on cultural identity of new forms of media. I hope that the lessons learned in the ...
I see no conflict between the faith of Islam and democracy. There was a consultation process. The consultation process occurred in the Muslim community at the time and two notions were retained. One was consultation and the other was hereditary continuation of religious authority, as well as secular authority. The second issue that occurred, is [that] it was consultation to achieve ...
Pluralism must become part of a society's ethical and institutional framework including the structures of government. A fundamental requirement, therefore, is investment in sustainable public and private institutions as well as in future leadership rooted in those societies.... Pluralism is essential to successful development as it offers a practical means of managing diversity, mitigating conflict, fostering social inclusion and laying the ...
I would like to focus today on what I believe are three essential pre-conditions for the successful transition of the poorest areas of the world into modern, peaceful societies. They are:First, stable and competent democratic governance;Second, an environment that respects and encourages pluralism;And third, a diverse and engaged civil society. In my view, these must be critical components of any global ...
One of the reasons we wanted to work together is to create opportunities for our brothers and sisters to live better lives. Our institution [the Aga Khan Development Network] will be at your service to try to build a civil society that will serve the Muslim Ummah [he said]. Monitor The Aga Khan has urged Muslims to strive to create a ...
The second international conference "Sustainable Tourism Development in Issykkul Region" takes place in the town of Cholponata, Issykkul. According to press service of the Finance Ministry of Kyrgyzstan, Prince Aga Khan Kerim IV, Prince Amin Aga Khan, President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akaev, Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev, JICA Head in Kyrgyzstan Nakano Satoshi, Finance Minister Bolot Abildaev, heads of ministries and departments ...
We are talking about something of the order of 40m people who live in the highest mountain ranges in the world, with the Karakorum and the Pamir.... In Afghanistan I think [the univeristy] will have a role. In north-west Pakistan I think it will have a role; in western China also. And Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey -- all these countries that ...
The Afghan Academy will significantly enhance the efforts of the government to rebuild and strengthen the Afghan education sector. It will empower future generations of educated men and women with the qualities, attitudes and knowledge that they will require when seeking to establish a peaceful and progressive civil society for the country. His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of ...
The [Tajikistan/Afghanistan AKDN sponsored] bridges carry lessons important for all of us working in mountain environments, which is, that small investments in critical infrastructure enable people to come together, to work together, and to gain better use of economic and social opportunity. Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmonov, His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims, and Afghanistan's Vice-President ...
First and foremost, [First MicroFianance Bank] is an institution -- not a project, not a programme, but a permanent establishment of one of the most important sectors in any nation's economy -- the banking sector.... Enabling underprivileged populations to have the opportunity to change their futures has always been a cornerstone of the Aga Khan Development Network's endeavour ... The provision ...
The conviction that home-grown intellectual leadership of exceptional calibre is the best driver of a society's destiny, underpins the Ismaili Imamat's endeavour to create catalytic centres of educational excellence.... Adopting internationally proven but flexible curriculum frameworks, the residential schools will evolve over time into an integrated system through which advanced students and faculty will be required to study at other campuses, ...
There is a growing appreciation of the link between the intellectual resources of major universities and the overall development of cities and nations. The three campuses of the University of Central Asia will be catalysts for the development of the region. His Highness the Aga Khan has announced the selection of the lead architect and the landscape architect for the three ...
Whatever definition is used, a quality civil society is independent of government, pluralist and led by merit-based educated leadership. Not only does Canadian civil society eminently meet these three criteria of being non-governmental pluralist and merit-led, I know of no country where civil society is more empathetic with the needs of civil society of the countries of Africa and Asia in ...
[D]emocracy cannot function reasonably without two preconditions. The first is a healthy, civil society.... The second precondition is pluralism.... The rejection of pluralism is pervasive across the globe and plays a significant role in breeding destructive conflicts. Examples are scattered across the world map: in Asia, in the Middle East, in Africa, in Europe, in the Americas. No continent has been ...
From what I can see [in Afghanistan], I would sense immense relief. Relief after decades of conflict, of poverty, of extremism and these are people who are tired and they are looking for a new future. And I think that is the greatest sense I have of what's happening and it's upto the international community, the Afghans, organisations such as mine, ...
Social and economic reconstruction must be based first on the engendering of hope and trust in new, realistic opportunities [and the need to] build for the continuity of such efforts by the beneficiaries themselves. Addressing representatives of over 60 states and international organisations at a major conference here, His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, ...
Our very fruitful discussions will now enable us to concentrate resources where the AKDN's experience can address priority needs identified in co-operation with the Syrian Government. These include specific areas of cultural and economic concern, education policy and institutional support in the healthcare sector and the challenges faced by rural populations. His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the ...
[Darb Al-Ahmar] was one of the poorest areas of Cairo. An area where social development had no horizons whatsoever therefore, you had more and more people coming in because these historic cities are transit areas very often for newly urbanised populations so you get more and more degradation. So we wanted to try and make sure the population in this area ...
We stand today confronted with starkly different visions of the future of historic cities. At a time when our heritage, the anchor of our identity and source of inspiration, is being threatened with destruction, by war and environmental degradation, by the inexorable demographic and economic pressures of exploding urban growth, or by simple neglect, there can be no doubt that it ...
In the long history of the Ismaili Imamat's engagement with education, covering well over a 1000 years and numerous countries past and present, few days can have been as important as this one.... As the young men and women from this Aga Khan Academy, and over time from its sister schools, grow and assume leadership in their societies, it is my ...
AKFED [is] neither a charitable foundation, nor a vehicle for the personal wealth of the Ismaili Imam of the time. It is a for-profit, international development agency that, because of its institutional background and social conscience, invests in countries, sectors and projects, on criteria far different from those of a straightforward commercial investor. Investment decisions are based more on the prospects ...
Aswan and the people of Aswan, have a place of deep affection in my heart and within my family.... The programmes announced today intend to both continue, and also to build significantly on, the work begun by Begum Sultan Mahomed Shah. Our objective is to strengthen civil society at the grassroots by helping to improve community development organisations and by bringing ...
In the tradition of Muslim spaces of gathering, the Ismaili Centre will be a symbol of the confluence between the spiritual and the secular in Islam. Architect El Dahan has drawn inspiration from the Fatimid mosques in Cairo. Like its functions, the Centre's architecture will reflect our perception of daily life whose rhythm weaves the body and the soul, man and ...
[AKU] must continue to expand its programmes of research. The true sign of maturity and excellence in a university is its ability to contribute to the knowledge of mankind, in its own society and beyond. It is equally essential that its faculty be challenged, as a matter of university policy, to expand the boundaries of human knowledge. Any vestige of dependence ...
On the occasion, Prince Karim Aga Khan appreciated the generous offer of Sindh Governor [of 500 acres of land]. He gave a briefing on future post-graduate education projects of the Foundation. The Prince Khan said that he attaches importance to this city and the province which was also birth place of his grandfather. He highlighted the importance of culture and heritage ...
