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

Earlier this month in Ottawa, the Global Centre for Pluralism officially opened its doors. The centre is a partnership between the Aga Khan and the government of Canada and is yet another important example of the bridge-building he has spearheaded along with support for important humanitarian causes in Canada and in the global south. The many institutions the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims and his community have supported in Canada and around the world are shining examples of service to the community and the less fortunate. The co-funding provided by the government of Canada for these causes is money well spent.

Pluralism is a concept that resonates very much in Greater Vancouver and other Canadian cities that feature a highly diverse demographic. For example, May is Asian Heritage Month. What an appropriate time for the opening of the grand, new institution in Ottawa. Vancouver might be thought of as a living laboratory for the concept of pluralism as such a diverse society learns from day to day how to live in harmony while learning from some of the mistakes of the past, such as the Chinese head tax or the internment of Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War, let alone the experiences of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

This Sunday, Vancouver will, once again, hold the annual World Partnership Walk in beautiful Stanley Park to benefit the excellent work of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, which works at the grassroots level in Africa and Asia to “tackle poverty on many fronts: improving access to quality education and health, increasing food security, creating economic opportunities for women and men, and building strong, resilient communities and local institutions”. The foundation engages Canadians from all walks of life, supported by the tireless devotion of volunteers — many of them from the Ismaili community — to keep issues of poverty and diversity on the public radar.

The annual Ismaili walk in Vancouver has been supporting local Vancouver charities such as hospitals, shelters and other worthy causes for 25 years.

Each time I learn more about the work of the Aga Khan, his institutions and his community of followers and their many contributions to Canadian society and the world at large, I become increasingly impressed with the level and quality of commitment and service being demonstrated to worthy causes in Canada and internationally.

I first met the Aga Khan in the early 1980s, when I was Vancouver’s mayor. He told me and a large lunch audience of mostly Ismailis at the Hotel Vancouver about his vision for the future related to international health, education, economic development initiatives, promoting pluralism and diversity.

July will mark 60 years of his leadership and a lifetime espousing the values of understanding, respect and compassion — values that have been critical to Canada’s own success and flourishing over its own 150 years. What better time than this confluence of anniversaries to celebrate these common values and the collective achievements to which they have given rise. In the current global climate, they are direly needed antidotes and injections of hope, in a world so rife with cynicism and division.

Mike Harcourt served as B.C. premier from 1991 to 1996 and was mayor of Vancouver