Aga Khan receives the Citizenship Award. 21th Sept 2016

Activities of the Imam and the Noorani family.
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https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/0 ... grees.html

Aga Khan wins Global Citizenship prize for his commitment in advancing pluralism

By Ghanizada - Fri Sep 23 2016, 9:33 am

The Aga Khan — spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims worldwide and renowned for his leadership of a global network of organizations working in education and development — will be presented with the first annual Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship on Wednesday in Toronto.

Clarkson, Canada’s former governor general, said that when picking a recipient for the new award in her name she was looking for an international figure who models the qualities of a good citizen and who makes the lives of others better.

In an interview with the Star, she highlighted the need to welcome newcomers from other countries, with the displacement and resettlement of millions now a pressing issue around the world.

“Basically we have a situation in the world now where we are seeing movement, and we have to take the traits of good citizenship wherever we go,” Clarkson said.

She noted that Ismaili Muslims have their own experiences of diplacement — many were expelled from East Africa in the early ’70s.

“The Aga Khan has taught all the people of Ismaili belief that wherever you go, you become a citizen of that country. Not only do you belong to your own group, but you reach out to a new society in which you are found.”

That approach, Clarkson said, is the basis of Canadian citizenship and can serve as an example for people around the globe.

She praised in particular the work of the Aga Khan in the area of education.

Clarkson said the award is intended to be based on the recipient’s lifetime of work, not just contributions in the past year.

The Aga Khan chairs the Aga Khan Development Network — a group of organizations that do a range of development work in more than two dozen countries around the world, with a staff of more than 80,000 people.

The Aga Khan Museum opened in Toronto two years ago, with a mission to promote an understanding of contributions made by Muslim societies and to encourage tolerance.

The winner of the initial award was chosen by Clarkson and the board of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (of which she’s a co-founder) — the charity presenting Toronto’s 6 Degrees Citizen Space series, where this is the closing event.

After he receives his award — a medal designed by Ottawa-based sculptor Anna Williams — at the ceremony at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall on Wednesday evening, the Aga Khan will join Clarkson to discuss global issues in front of the crowd. Rufus Wainwright is slated to perform at the event.

Tickets are sold out, but the event will be streamed online. Next year’s prize will be awarded in September 2017.

Correction - September 21, 2016: This article was edited from previous version to update an incorrect photo caption that misspelled Zahra Aga Khan's name.
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21 September 2016
H.H. The Aga Khan in Toronto for the Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship

Several videos of the Imam arriving and leaving the ceremony:

What a heart warming and unforgettable moment.

Look carefully these 5 videos. In some our Imam waves at the Murids, in some he gives blessings. Can you spot the difference?


https://www.facebook.com/IsmailiHeritag ... 391261560/

https://www.facebook.com/IsmailiHeritag ... 841277815/

https://www.facebook.com/IsmailiHeritag ... 714611861/

https://www.facebook.com/IsmailiHeritag ... 291059070/

https://www.facebook.com/IsmailiHeritag ... 444321088/

Last edited by Admin on Wed Sep 28, 2016 2:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by kmaherali »

experiments in pluralism

When distant forces feel like dire threats


Aga Khan

The Globe and Mail



Published Friday, Sep. 23, 2016 1:45PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Sep. 23, 2016 1:47PM EDT

This is a condensed version of an address delivered this week in Toronto by His Highness the Aga Khan, as he accepted the Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship at the inaugural Six Degrees “citizen space,” presented by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. 6degreescanada.com.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor ... e32023652/

*******
Adrienne Clarkson
@APClarkson

Here I am with the most magnificent human being - His Highness the Aga Khan at our prize-giving Sept 21st pic.twitter.com/UuHiZ7jxJK

https://mobile.twitter.com/APClarkson/s ... 7847129089
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More photos of arrival at the Global Citizenship event on 21 September 2016 in Toronto with Prince Aly Muhammad, drienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul

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http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Aga-Kh ... index.html

Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Aga Khan gets global award to salute his exemplary role


In Summary

The award recognizes an individual whose life has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the ideals of belonging and inclusion.

By Ludger Kasumuni @TheCitizenTz lkasumuni@tz.nationmedia.com
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http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/ ... tizenship/

Aga Khan receives Prize for Global Citizenship

Tribune Desk
Published at 12:13 AM September 29, 2016
Last updated at 12:39 AM September 29, 2016

Aga Khan receives Prize for Global Citizenship
Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, popularly known as the Aga Khan, received the inaugural Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship yesterday in a ceremony which concluded the three-day 6 Degrees Citizen Space conference

The 6 Degrees Citizen Space conference is the new public initiative of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. The award recognises an individual whose life has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the ideals of belonging and inclusion.

Accepting the prize in Toronto, the Aga Khan focused his remarks on the values of global citizenship and the spirit of pluralism on which it rests. He noted that embracing such values “should not mean compromising the bonds of local or national citizenship.”

“The call of pluralism should ask us to respect our differences, but not to ignore them; to integrate diversity, not to depreciate diversity,” he remarked.

The Aga Khan acknowledged that “living with diversity is a challenging process” but that “the work of pluralism is always a work in progress.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his own warm sentiments in a video message played during the ceremony. “Thank you, Your Highness. Canada and the world are stronger and richer because of your commitment to diversity and to finding common ground, to helping those most vulnerable and to believing in a better, closer, more inclusive world.”

The Aga Khan, an honorary Canadian citizen and Companion of the Order of Canada, is the 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and founder and chair of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The AKDN is active in 30 countries and employs approximately 80,000 people.
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https://nowtoronto.com/news/on-the-reco ... lturalism/

On the record: the Aga Khan's call for multiculturalism

Spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims uses recent Koerner Hall address to make global pitch for pluralism


September 28, 2016

4:28 PM

His Highness the Aga Khan was given the inaugural Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship at a ceremony at Toronto's Koerner Hall Tuesday, September 20. In his acceptance speech, the spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims around the world warned of the threats to pluralism in Canada and abroad in the age of mass migration, Brexit, Donald Trump and the explosion of information technology. Below is an slightly edited and condensed excerpt from his address. The subheads have been added.
Of diversity and division

We talk sincerely about the values of diversity, about living with complexity. But in too many cases more diversity seems to mean more division, greater complexity and more fragmentation, and more fragmentation can bring us closer to conflict.

The stakes seem to be getting higher to the ideals of global citizenship.

One enormous challenge, is the simple fact that diversity is increasing around the world. The task is not merely learning to live with that diversity, but learning to live with greater diversity with each passing year.

More people are moving, willingly and unwillingly, across national frontiers than ever before. In country after country, the migration question is a central issue of political life. Often it is the central issue.

And old habits of mind, including narrow, exclusionary definitions of citizenship, have not met the challenge.

That was true three months ago when Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. It is true in pre-election debates in France, where I now live, and in the United States, where I went to university.

It is true in Canada, though Canada has certainly been a world leader in expanding the concept of citizenship. But the challenge is felt everywhere. Nor is the migration challenge likely to dissipate any time soon, especially as war, violence, and economic deprivation, displace more and more people.
Fear of the "other"

In such a world, the “other” is no longer a distant someone whom we encounter primarily in the pages of a magazine, or on a video screen, or an exotic holiday trip. The “other” increasingly is someone who appears in what we think of as “our space,” or even, “in our face.”

When the other is seen as a potential competitor, for a job for example, even when this fear is unfounded, it is tempting to look for scapegoats, for someone to blame, when our self-esteem seems threatened. Often, we then find it easier to define our identity by what we are against, than by what we are for.

Such fears may be culturally based, or economically driven, or psychologically rooted. But they should not be underestimated. And they will not be driven away by nice sounding words proclaiming lofty ideals.

This is why I would emphasize our responsibility to improve the quality of life in places throughout the world – fighting poverty, improving health and education, expanding opportunity – as the first manifestation of a healthy pluralistic ethic. Pluralism means responding to diversity not only at home, but on a global basis.

But the growing challenge to pluralistic values does not happen only when people move physically from one place to another.
Technology won't save us

As new technologies shrink the planet, distant forces become dire threats. We worry about the perils of environmental degradation, for example. We see how every local economy can be affected by distant economies. We realize how dangerous forces – deadly diseases, or deadly weaponry, criminal networks or terrorist threats – can spread across national borders. And often, the human impulse is to withdraw from a threatening world.

One element that complicates this challenge is the way in which we communicate with our global neighbours.

We think sometimes that the new technologies can save us. If we can connect faster, at lower cost, across greater distances, with more people, just think what could happen! We would all learn more about one another and perhaps understand one another better.

But I am not sure that things are working out that way. The explosion of available information often means less focus on relevant information, and even a surfeit of misinformation. Thoughtful leadership often gives way to noisy chatter.

Media proliferation is another challenge. What it often means is media fragmentation.

Many now live in their own media bubbles, resisting diverse views.
Realities of identity are more than skin deep

Yet another dimension of the challenge has to do with the realities of human nature. We often hear in discussions of global citizenship that people are basically alike. Under the skin, deep in our hearts, we are all brothers and sisters – we are told – and the secret to a harmonious world is to ignore our differences and to emphasize our similarities.

What worries me is when some take that message to mean that our differences are trivial, that they can be ignored, and eventually erased. And that is not good advice. In fact, it is impossible.

Yes, our understanding and our underlying humanity should motivate our quest for healthy pluralism. But talking only about our common humanity might seem to threaten people’s distinctive identities.
Who am I?

Who am I? We all must pose that question. Answers grow out of basic loyalties to family, faith, community, language, which provide a healthy sense of security and worth. Embracing the values of global citizenship should not mean compromising the bonds of local or national citizenship. The call of pluralism should ask us to integrate diversity, not to depreciate diversity.

The call for cosmopolitanism is not a call to homogenization. It means affirming social solidarity, without imposing social conformity. One’s identity need not be diluted in a pluralistic world, but rather fulfilled, as one bright thread in a cloth of many colours.

My own religious community identifies proudly as Ismaili Muslims, with our specific interpretation of Islamic faith and history. But we also feel a sense of belonging with the whole of the Muslim world, what we call the Ummah.

Within the Ummah, the diversity of identities is immense – based on language, on history, on nationhood, ethnicity and a variety of local affiliations. But, at the same time, I observe a growing sense within the Ummah of a meaningful global bond.

When the question of human identity is seen in this context, then diversity itself can be seen as a gift. In the end of course, we must realize that living with diversity is a challenging process. We are wrong to think it will be easy. The work of pluralism is always a work in progress.

The challenges will be many and continuing. What will they require of us? A short list might include: a vital sense of balance, an abundant capacity for compromise, more than a little sense of patience, an appropriate degree of humility, a good measure of forgiveness, and a genuine welcoming of human difference.

It will never be completed. But no work will be more important.
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Post by kmaherali »

Congratulating the Aga Khan

Yasmin Ratansi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP078kyrSYM#t=34
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Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship: HH the Aga Khan

Published on Nov 3, 2016


The marquee event at the inaugural 6 Degrees, the Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship is to be awarded annually to a leader whose life has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the ideals of belonging and inclusion. Through words, actions and results, this individual has encouraged thought and dialogue, approaches and strategies that strive to remove barriers, change attitudes, and reinforce the principles of tolerance and respect.

The symbolic importance of this prize has never been greater. In a time of unprecedented movement, displacement and re-settlement by immigrants and refugees, our central challenge is how we are all to live together.

This must involve upholding human rights, while both engendering inclusion and respect for each other, and celebrating the cultural differences that make us unique. This challenge of weaving together human rights and cultural differences will permit us to leave behind the old racial and religious divisions. This is the basis for true citizenship - meaningful engagement by citizens for citizens founded on shared principles and values.

Special performance by Rufus Wainwright - Internationally-acclaimed vocalist and songwriter

VIDEO of the full event:
/ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/6-degrees-releases-much-anticipated-full-event-video-of-the-adrienne-clarkson-prize-for-global-citizenship-honouring-his-highness-prince-karim-aga-khan-in-toronto-canada-on-september-21-2016/
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