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

The 19 finalists for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture are to be announced this afternoon during an event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Chosen by a nine-member master jury, the projects on the shortlist range from textile factory in Turkey to a women’s health center in Burkina Faso.

Established in 1977 and given every three years, the prestigious Aga Khan Award recognizes notable projects in communities where Muslims have a significant presence. The program was created by His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. The prize fund totals $500,000.

The shortlist of 19 nominees for the 2010 cycle of Aga Khan Award for Architecture was recently announced by the Master Jury. The nominees, which range from a textile factory in Turkey to a school built on a bridge in China, are located in Albania, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Turkey.

TORONTO, May 26

Foundation Ceremony for the Ismaili Centre, the Aga Khan Museum and Park to take place in Toronto, Friday

TORONTO, May 26 /CNW Telbec/ - On Friday, May 28, 2010, His Highness the Aga Khan will participate in the Foundation Ceremony to mark the beginning of the development of the Ismaili Centre, the first-ever Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture, and their Park, in Toronto's Don Mills area.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims, will put a shovel in the ground Friday, marking the start of construction of a $300-million development in the Don Mills Rd.-Eglinton Ave. area.

Plans call for the building of a museum named after the Aga Khan, an Ismaili Centre and the creation of a park. The massive project is slated for completion by 2013.

Law Firm threatens defendants and acts on the threat!

Heritage News has found out that Mr Brian Gray, lawyer for the purported Plaintiff in the Aga Khan Copyright lawsuit, threatened the defendants to widely circulate a purported "affirmation by the Imam" while delivering the said affirmation.

Design Excellence:

60 Richmond Street Housing Development
Toronto
Teeple Architects Inc.

Centre for Urban Ecology
Toronto
Taylor Hazell Architects Ltd. with Architects Alliance and gh3 inc.

Fire & Emergency Services Training Institute
Mississauga
Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects Incorporated

Gerstein Reading Room, Gerstein Science Information Centre
Toronto
Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated

House in Frogs Hollow
Grey Highlands
WILLIAMSONWILLIAMSON INC.

House in Grey Highlands
Grey Highlands
Ian MacDonald Architect Inc.

MaRS Centre
Toronto

The Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto has won this year’s Best of Show Award from the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).

The jury said the 1,100-seat concert hall has been widely praised both for its acoustic qualities and its physical beauty.

The centre was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects.

The 2010 People’s Choice Award went to The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa, designed by Maki and Associates and Moriyama and Teshima Architects.

A Toronto lawyer facing a lawsuit by the Aga Khan is alleging the spiritual leader isn’t actually behind the action, according to his statement of defence.

In the document filed with the Federal Court, Alnaz Jiwa claims Shafik Sachedina, a senior Ismaili who works at the Aga Khan’s offices in Aiglemont, France, initiated the action for breach of copyright.

La ville de Mopti se prépare activement pour la cérémonie d'inauguration de la grande mosquée rénovée et du marché construit. L'événement, qui verra la participation du président de la République, Amadou Toumani Touré et du Prince Karim Aga Khan, aura lieu le 24 avril prochain, dans la Venise malienne où les populations et les ressortissants à Bamako sont en train de préparer une grande fête populaire et de retrouvaille autour des idéaux communs pour le développement de la localité.

Prince Karim Aga Khan, a billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader of some 20 million Muslims worldwide, stressed the importance of education in the age of globalization in Atlanta as he helped the International Baccalaureate celebrate its 40th anniversary.

The International Baccalaureate, or IB, has programs for students aged 3-19 at 2,300 participating schools in 126 countries, said Monique Seefried, chair of the IB Board of Governors.

Bismillah-hir-Rahmanir-Rahim

Excellence Monsieur le Président de la République,
Messieurs les Ministres,
Monsieur le Gouverneur de la Région de Mopti,
Monsieur le Maire de la Communauté Urbaine de Mopti,
Messieurs le Chef du village et les notables de Komoguel, l’Imam de la Mosquée
Chers Invités,
Mesdames et Messieurs,

Asalaam-o-aleikum

Microfinance agency launched: In addition to official meetings, His Highness was in Cote d'Ivoire to launch the Première Agence de Microfinance (PAMF), which is to start operations in the areas of Boundiali and Dianra in northern Côte d’Ivoire. It joins two sister microfinance institutions, in Mali and Burkina Faso, which were launched in 2006. PAMF will serve disadvantaged communities through a network that is expected to grow to over eight branches by 2012.

The developing world needs more electricity, telephones, clean water, and transport and governments are encouraging the private sector to take a role in providing these basic services. AKFED is responding to the challenge and is looking at infrastructure projects in telecommunications, water and sewerage, and power generation. The Azito project was AKFED's first investment in the power sector; it was followed various other energy projects in East and West Africa as well as Central Asia.

The Largest Private Sector Power Plant in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ismaili Muslims from across the country will gather in Vancouver this weekend to celebrate the 2008 Canadian Ismaili Games.

The games, which celebrate 50 years of the Aga Khan's leadership, will take place May 2 to 5 and involve about 1,000 athletes. Winners will represent Canada at the Golden Jubilee Games in Nairobi, Kenya in June.

The spiritual leader of Shiite Ismaili Muslims is the 49th heriditary imam

MUMBAI: The top spiritual leader of the Shiite Ismaili Muslims is expected to reach Mumbai on May 14 as part of an eight-day official visit to the country.

The 49th hereditary imam, prince Karim al-Husseni, who is a descendant of the Prophet Aga Khan, touched base in Delhi on Monday, where he met prime minister Manmohan Singh, president Pratibha Patil and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He is in the country to take part in the golden jubilee celebrations of the Aga Khan, which began in July last year.

Prince Karim Aga Khan yesterday said a continuing spirit of close partnership would be required to materialise the major development agenda of Bangladesh.

“The Aga Khan Development Network's agenda for Bangladesh reflect your agenda. To achieve the agenda will require a continuing spirit of close partnership,” he said this while he was addressing a banquet in honour of him.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed hosted the state banquet at Hotel Sonargaon.

Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed last night said his government is working relentlessly and uncompromisingly to empower people and ensure their right to choose their representatives without fear or intimidation.

Prince Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, arrives Dhaka today on a four-day state visit.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed will receive him at Zia International airport.

Price Aga Khan's visit marks the golden jubilee of his Imamat. He became the Imam on July 11, 1957 at the age of 20, succeeding his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan.

Prince Aga Khan will call on President Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and hold meetings with several advisers.

Dhaka - Aga Khan, the leader of Ismaili Muslims across the world, arrived in Dhaka on Monday to a rousing welcome at the start of a four-day visit to Bangladesh, officials said.

Fakhruddin Ahmed, the de facto prime minister of the interim government, was at the airport along with other senior officials to greet the head of the Ismailis, a group who live as permanent residents in some 25 countries.

The airport was bedecked by flowers and festoons as the Aga Khan stepped down to a red-carpet reception.

The Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary (spiritual imam) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, arrives in Dhaka Monday on a four-day state visit.

The Prince Aga Khan is visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.

The Aga Khan will meet president Iajuddin Ahmed, foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, law adviser AF Hassan Ariff, finance adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam and education adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman, the foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday.