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A year ago today, on 26 June 2018, the Aga Khan Centre was inaugurated by Mawlana Hazar Imam and HRH The Prince of Wales at a special ceremony in London’s thriving Knowledge Quarter. Over the past year, the design features of the building and its gardens, as well as its programme of activities, have come to represent the principles of openness, dialogue, and pluralism.
The.Ismaili is pleased to publish an interview with Abyd Karmali, OBE, Managing Director and Climate Financing Executive at a multinational financial institution, and Vice Chair of the Aga Khan Foundation (UK) National Committee. Abyd discusses his perspective on the interaction between humankind and nature, and the implications of climate change in today’s rapidly changing world.
The Embassy of Bangladesh, Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of Bangladesh, Dubai hosted a cultural evening in partnership with the Ismaili Community at the Ismaili Centre, Dubai on April 21, 2019.
Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, is celebrated on 21 June every year. On this day, musicians around the world are urged to play and listen to music outdoors in their neighbourhoods, or in gardens, parks, and public spaces. In the lead-up to the occasion earlier this month, thousands of people gathered to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr at the London Eid Festival 2019 in Trafalgar Square, where they were treated to a special performance by the UK Jamat’s Ismaili Community Ensemble.
Since 2016, dozens of volunteers have collaborated with the Aga Khan Education Board in India on the design and delivery of its flagship mentoring programme, Reach for the Stars (RFS). Launched in collaboration with the Ismaili Council for India, RFS was designed as a long-term programme for high-potential students between the ages of 18 to 25 years.
Wellbeing impacts not just our personal comfort, health, and happiness; but also our work and working environment in a variety of ways. In fact, when levels of wellbeing in organisations increase; turnover, absenteeism, and presenteeism - showing up to work but not being productive - rates decrease significantly.
As long ago as 1835, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States and recognized a unique characteristic, namely, the role played by voluntary private associations in social, political, and economic life. He suggested this freedom to associate was the “mother science” which illustrated how other societal problems might be resolved. Today, the United States Jamat is continuing a long tradition of volunteering for the public good.
This year’s Annual Pluralism Lecture was held on 11 June at the Ismaili Centre, Lisbon, where Amina J. Mohammed spoke about the connections between pluralism and sustainable development. In his introductory remarks, Mawlana Hazar Imam said that Ms Mohammed “has had an extraordinary life journey, and we are all privileged to be able to benefit from her insights.”
Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General at the United Nations, delivered the Global Centre for Pluralism’s 2019 Annual Pluralism Lecture at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, in the presence of Mawlana Hazar Imam, Princess Zahra, and Prince Aly Muhammad.
On May 14, Sirbaz Khan became the first Pakistani climber to summit Mount Lhotse in Nepal without the use of supplementary oxygen. Lhotse is the world’s fourth highest mountain at 8,516 meters, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. This short video recounts his journey so far; one of aspiration, joy, struggle, and hope.
The word environment has many layers of meaning. It can be understood as our surroundings, conditions, or the natural world as a whole. It is comprised of our planet and its atmosphere, humans, animals, plants, and built structures that societies construct. The environment is all around us, and everyday we live within it.
The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam was recently launched by the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Part of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series, the book was published in honour of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee. It is the first English translation of the original Persian manuscript, ‘Ibrat-afza, which was composed by Imam Hasan Ali Shah in 1850.