Aga Khan Development Network

AKDN is delighted to be in Cape Town as a supporter of The Earthshot Prize 2024. Some of the most innovative, creative and positive minds in climate solutions have gathered here – and there’s much to be inspired by. Across five days of landmark events, Earthshot Week will celebrate the groundbreaking work of fifteen global environmental solutions. AKDN is proud to be a global alliance founding partner of the Prize. #EarthshotCapeTown

Mostar’s Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation today honoured His Highness the Aga Khan with its Peace Connection Award. The Mostar Peace Connection Award was established in 2004 to recognise individuals and organisations that demonstrate a strong commitment to peace, cooperation and understanding worldwide. Previous recipients include, amongst others, Nelson Mandela, Mohamed ElBaradei and António Guterres. “His Highness’s entire life has been dedicated to a humanitarian mission to preserve the highest values of humanity,” said Safet Orusevic, Director of Mostar’s Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation and former Mayor of Mostar from 1992-1996. “This Award is a symbolic gesture of our gratitude for your support of our city and people in the most challenging times.” The Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation also conferred the Mostar Charter of Peace on the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) for its efforts in the restoration of Mostar between 1998 and 2004. Prince Rahim Aga Khan accepted the awards on behalf of his father, His Highness the Aga Khan, at a presentation ceremony at the Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat in Lisbon. The awards are presented every year to mark the anniversary of the reconstruction of Stari Most, the 16th-century Ottoman bridge that connects the two parts of the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bridge is a prime example of Balkan Islamic architecture. Commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557, it was designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a student and apprentice of the renowned architect Mimar Sinan. After it was destroyed during the 1992-1995 Croat-Bosniak war, a coalition formed to rebuild the bridge, comprising UNESCO, the World Bank and the World Monuments Fund, which also partnered with AKTC to oversee the restoration of Mostar's historic city centre. “AKTC worked on a detailed conservation and development plan for the old city,” explained Prince Rahim. “It undertook conservation of four historic buildings in the neighbourhoods flanking the Old Bridge complex on both sides of the Neretva River, in an effort to re-establish their physical and operational integrity. Together with the Old Bridge, these structures form an integral and essential part of Mostar’s historic townscape, fostering peace, stability and opportunity. ” “Today, more than ever, the world needs that spirit of pluralism and inclusiveness embodied in the reconstruction of the Mostar Bridge, which we are proud to have been a part of,” said Prince Rahim.“The Awards presented to us today are a most welcome encouragement to continue working in favour of peace among communities in different parts of the world that share the unwavering value of pluralism.” https://lnkd.in/dH5zG2gw

In Cabo Delgado, conflict, unpredictable weather and other issues have caused a food crisis for 1.5 million people. In response, the Aga Khan Foundation has launched AgroVida, a new initiative funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands, to improve nutrition and food security for 125,000 people in northern Mozambique. AgroVida will enhance nutrition and support 24,500 small-scale food producers across 8 districts, directly impacting the lives of those in need. Click the link below to learn about the four ways it will achieve this. https://lnkd.in/exHZUSzn Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mozambique | SmartFarming | Gapi - Sociedade de Investimentos | ThirdWay Partners

As part of the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste’s visit to Portugal, a cooperation protocol was signed on Thursday between the Ismaili Imamat and the Government of Timor-Leste. The agreement aims to strengthen relations and foster collaboration across various sectors, including international relations, diplomacy, social development, the economy and culture. It also establishes regular consultations between the Ismaili Imamat and the Government of Timor-Leste. The cooperation protocol was signed at the Diwan, the Ismaili Imamat’s headquarters in Lisbon, by Timor-Leste’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, and Nazim Ahmad, Diplomatic Representative of the Ismaili Imamat to Portugal. The signing was witnessed by the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Portugal, Isabel Amaral Guterres, and other senior representatives of the Ismaili Imamat. This is the first agreement with a Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP - Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) member state since the 2015 agreement between the Ismaili Imamat and the Portuguese Republic. In his address, Minister Freitas emphasised the importance of promoting peace and dialogue amid global challenges: “Let’s unite our forces for the promotion of peace and intercultural dialogue, centred on human dignity. This agreement also recognises the significant contributions of the Aga Khan Development Network to the education, health and well-being of disadvantaged populations, particularly in Mozambique.” Nazim Ahmad remarked, “By signing this cooperation protocol, we continue our path of solidarity and dialogue, ensuring that the most disadvantaged in East Timor have access to opportunities to improve their quality of life.” https://lnkd.in/dRA3-ztA

Since 2019, the Aga Khan Development Network’s Central Asia Stunting Initiative has been tackling undernutrition in some of the most remote mountainous regions of Pakistan and also Afghanistan and Tajikistan.    In Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous province in northern Pakistan, the prevalence of stunting among children under 5, in the areas CASI works, has dropped from 41 to 35 percent in just five years - a faster rate than the global average.    Nutritionists have been visiting remote valleys, speaking to communities, assessing their health status, raising awareness of better feeding practices and, where necessary, providing high-nutrition supplementary feeding products.   Click the link below to learn more about this programme and its impact. https://lnkd.in/eqhiS_48 Aga Khan Foundation | Harry Johnstone | Gijs Walraven | Claudia Hudspeth | Farida Shah | The Telegraph | Aga Khan Health Service Pakistan | Arsalan H. | aminah jahangir | #WorldFoodDay

By 2050, 60% of the world’s population over 60 years old will live in Africa, and 7.6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will be affected by dementia. The harm dementia causes to individual quality of life is clear: from personal distress to family burden to the loss of vital income. On a national scale, a dementia explosion in lower-income countries could derail development, with reduced productivity, further pressure on health resources and a heavy social impact.   Can Africa lead the fight against #dementia? Click the link to learn more. https://lnkd.in/emKSz2NA Zul Merali | Aga Khan University

A full-circle moment! Twenty years ago, Dr Saulat Fatimi, Professor and Section Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital, performed open-heart surgery on a 3-year-old with Tetralogy of Fallot from rural Sindh. This month, that same child has joined him as an intern in #CardiothoracicSurgery. Truly the stuff of miracles!

The Master Jury for the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture was announced today. The independent panel, responsible for selecting the winners of the prestigious US$ 1 million Award, will meet in January to evaluate and shortlist projects from hundreds of nominations worldwide. The nine members of the Master Jury for the 16th Award cycle (2023-2025) are: Azra Aksamija, Professor & Director, Art, Culture and Technology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA Noura Al-Sayeh Holtrop, Advisor for Heritage Projects, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Manama, Bahrain Lucia Allais, Director, Buell Center, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation, New York, USA David Basulto, Founder, ArchDaily, Santiago, Chile and Berlin, Germany Yvonne Farrell, Academy of Architecture, Mendrisio, Switzerland; Founder and Partner, Grafton Architects, Dublin, Ireland Kabage Karanja (riba), Co-founder, Cave_bureau, Nairobi, Kenya; Assistant Professor of Architectural Design, Yale University, New Haven, USA Yacouba Konate, Professor of Philosophy, University Félix Houphouët Boigny of Abidjan-Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire Dr. Hassan Radoine, Director General & Full Professor, UM6P-CITINNOV SA for Integrated Territorial Planning and Smart Cities, UM6P - Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Rabat, Morocco Mun Summ Wong, Professor-in-Practice, Department of Architecture, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore; Co-founding Director, WOHA, Singapore Following the selection of the shortlist, projects will undergo rigorous on-site reviews by independent experts, the majority of whom are architects, conservation specialists, planners or structural engineers. The Jury will meet for a second time in summer 2025 to examine the on-site reviews and select the final winners. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. https://lnkd.in/eWUPemfm Photographer © AKSAMIJA Azra: (c) Dietmar Offenhuber AL SAYEH Noura: (c) Ishaq Madan ALLAIS Lucia: (c) Brian Goldfarb BASULTO David: (c) Valeriia Karas FARRELL Yvonne: (c) Anna Mas KONATE Yacouba: (c) Rotonde des Arts WONG Mun Summ: (c) WOHA #AKAA2025 #AgaKhanAwardforArchitecture

An exhibition of exquisite miniature paintings by the esteemed artist Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh recently opened at the Aga Khan Centre in London in a show curated by Esen Salma Kaya. ‘Seven Pavilions of Love’ is inspired by the Haft Paykar (The Seven Beauties), a romantic allegorical poem of the medieval period written by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavī in 1197. The miniatures in this series depict the transformation of King Bahram from a worldly ruler dominated by earthly desires to a wise one. Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh is an Iranian artist based in London. Her work explores the disciplines of Persian poetry manuscripts, sacred geometry and Persian miniatures. She has worked both as an academic and artist in Iran, America and Europe. For the last 20 years, Ahmadzadeh has regularly spent time living and studying under calligraphy masters in Iran. 'Seven Pavilions of Love' is on display at the Aga Khan Centre Gallery in London until Sunday 1 December 2024. This film, which accompanies the exhibition, was shot and directed by Adam Tait. https://lnkd.in/ed5esGKq

Over 13 years into the crisis, 2.4 million Syrian children – half the school age population – are out of school. Access to health facilities is severely limited due to closures and lack of transport and money. With this in mind, AKDN agencies are tailoring early childhood development programming in Syria to address the challenges of conflict, recovery, sanctions and scarcity. Health sector initiatives target children from birth to age three, while educational support extends up to age eight. In partnership with UNICEF, the Aga Khan Foundation has supported communities to establish preschools, giving young children a foundation for academic and life skills. AKDN is also training health workers to guide parents on interactive play and positive engagement to boost children's cognitive and emotional growth. Click the link to learn more. https://lnkd.in/eFiJDwTc