It was Canada which opened her arms to receive them, to succour them and to give them a new home and a new country. None of us will ever forget that wonderful gesture of spontaneous goodwill by the government and people of Canad

In Islam, the Holy Quran offers explicit direction to share resources beyond one?s requirements, and to care for the poor and those in need. The injunction to service is the ethical underpinning of the work of the Aga Khan Development Network. It drives its efforts to build the intellectual capital and institutions needed to address the problems of our world today. An example is the Global Centre for Pluralism which we have recently founded in partnership with the Government of Canada.

ngaging with one another to build mutual understanding and appreciation across our differences, the kind of dialogue which is at the heart of pluralism, must continue. There are important lessons to be learnt from the past year as the pandemic has transformed our societies and our institutions.