Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

U of T Mississauga professor's book receives Iran 's highest prize in the humanities

Professor Shafique Virani of the Department of Historical Studies at U of T Mississauga and U of T’s Department and Centre for the Study of Religion has received a Farabi International Award for his book The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation.

The Aga Khan University is working on a curriculum that focuses on the needs of people who share the vast Indian Ocean.

Dr Rafique Keshavjee, East Africa head of academic planning, said the university will do this by harnessing ideas from an ongoing five-day conference in Nairobi.

The conference is dubbed “The Worlds of the Indian Ocean — connecting the past to the future.”

The conference is the first in a series that aims at engaging people of the Indian Ocean to study and discuss issues affecting them.

When the world's most powerful government leaders gather in cottage country next year to discuss how to get the global economy back on track, religious leaders from around the world will be on hand to push them to remember the poor and the environment.

"How can the G8 ignore it if all these voices are speaking together," asks Rev. Karen Hamilton, general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches.

The Oscar ceremony's kissing bandit Adrien Brody will be in the house at the March 26 opening night gala for the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. The best actor Oscar winner for The Pianist will receive the AFI Dallas Star Award during the festivities at the AMC NorthPark Theater.

Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the 2001 Award Presentation Ceremony of the Aga Khan Award For Architecture, The Citadel (Aleppo, Syria)
06 November 2001

Your Excellency Prime Minister Miro
Honourable Ministers
Your Excellencies
Distinguished Guests

It is with great joy that I open the 2001 Presentation Ceremony of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. To do so in Syria and in this great city of Aleppo is exhilarating. For me, it is moving in a very personal way, for it takes place in a land of shared history and common heritage.

President Barack Obama has named Dr. Eboo Patel, Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), to the newly created White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The 25 member council is made up of religious and secular advisors who will guide decisions on both domestic and foreign policy issues.

Eboo Patel was featured on FACES OF FAITH ( Promoting Religious Tolerance ) Interview on CNN.

Washington: The US President, Barack Obama, on Thursday appointed an Indian American to his new advisory council on inter faith relationships.

Eboo S Patel, founder and executive director of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Corps, would be a member of the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

The council announced Thursday it would have 25 members, who will be appointed for a one-year term. However, fifteen members to the council were announced today.

The University of Cambridge has today announced the names of 12 distinguished people, to be submitted for approval to the Regent House for the conferment of honorary degrees.

Ten eminent individuals from the worlds of religion, business, science, music, history, philanthropy, politics and economics are proposed for Honorary Doctorates, and two nominations are made for the Honorary Degree of Master of Arts.

Those submitted are:

His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussayni, the Aga Khan (Doctor of Divinity)

Mrs Melinda Gates, Philanthropist (Doctor of Law)

UNIVERSITIES and tertiary institutions in Africa and Asia have been urged to prioritise training in the management and control of non-communicable diseases (diseases that are not contagious).

Local and international health experts are meeting in Kampala for the summit on chronic, non-communicable diseases for African and Asian countries like diabetes, cancer and heart ailments.
The experts demanded political commitment in dealing with the diseases.

THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, has paid tribute to the Aga Khan Foundation for its contribution to the development of Uganda, particularly in the education sector, a State House statement said on Friday.

Mrs. Museveni made the comment at State House, Nakasero during a meeting with Princess Zahra Aga Khan, daughter of His Highness the Aga Khan. The princess is in Uganda for a conference on health issues.

PRINCESS Zahara Aga Khan has called upon African and Asian governments to invest in early childhood development to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases.

“Early childhood experiences have a direct impact on brain development and exposure to a safe environment, appropriate activities and a balanced diet are essential for the normal development of a healthy adult,” said Zahara.

She said since many diseases were a result of attitudes and lifestyles, prevention should explore the parenting techniques, traditions and eating habits.

Eight new stamps featuring various development projects of the Aga Khan in Uganda have been issued by Posta Uganda. The stamps, which commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Aga Khan, were launched on Wednesday during celebrations to mark the World Post Day at the Posta office in Kampala.

The Aga khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of institutions founded and led by Prince Karim Aga Khan, which collaborate with the governments and other organisation, towards improving living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world like Uganda.

Apollo Magazine Featured H.H. The Aga Khan IV on their cover and selected him as their personality of the year on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee. The article includes photographs and descriptions of His Highness's recent endeavours.

Maki and Associates has completed the first building in the world specifically designed for the Aga Khan and his agencies.

Over 113 students on Saturday graduated with degrees and diplomas in Advanced Nursing Studies during the 6th graduation ceremony of Aga Khan University at Serena Hotel, Kampala.

Over 55 students were awarded Bachelors of Science Degrees in Nursing and 58 graduated with Diplomas in General Nursing.

Aga Khan University to expand
By Vicent Mnyanyika

The Aga Khan University is set to establish an Institute of Educational, Arts and Sciences in Arusha and a Faculty of Health Sciences in Nairobi, Kenya, under its initiative to expand its services in the region.

Under its expansion initiative, the university will develop relevant programmes and curricula to offer diplomas in accident, emergency and disaster management inline with regional and peoples' needs.

More than 180 students earned degrees in nursing and medicine Wednesday, when the Aga Khan University (AKU) held its fifth graduation ceremony in Nairobi.

University president Firoz Rasul, urged the group to give back to their home communities.

“Make an impact wherever you go, an impact that is reflective of the personal development, good friends and intellectual growth you gained at AKU.”

I was hosted to lunch at the Aga Khan's residence on the Isle de la Cite in the River Seine. It is a charming old property located on the same island as the Notre Dame Cathedral. Our conversation followed on our last meeting in Singapore last December. The Aga Khan has since decided to establish an Ismaili base in Singapore for his Foundation's work. I welcomed it and promised to facilitate its materialisation. There are a number of areas where Singapore and the Aga Khan Foundation can work together to develop capacity in developing countries.

Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo was hosted to lunch by His Highness the Aga Khan at the latter's residence in Paris on 18 January 2009. It was a follow-up to their earlier meeting in December 2008 when the Aga Khan visited Singapore as part of his Golden Jubilee celebrations.

SINGAPORE : Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo is in Paris for a three-day official visit.

On Sunday, he was hosted to lunch by the Aga Khan, who is the Imam of Shi'a Ismaili Muslims.

According to a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the lunch was a follow-up to their earlier meeting last December, when the Aga Khan visited Singapore as part of his Golden Jubilee celebrations.

During the lunch, the Aga Khan announced he would establish an Ismaili Centre and regional representative office of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Singapore.