SIPA - School of International and Public Affairs Columbia University
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/news_events/announcements/aga_khan.html
May 15, 2006
News and Events - Tribute to Guest Speaker: His Highness the Aga Khan
His Highness the Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, to the Ismaili Imamat at the age of 20 on July 11, 1957, becoming the 49th hereditary spiritual leader (Imam) of the Ismaili Muslims. He is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, Ali (the first Imam) and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. Son of Prince Aly Khan and Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan, the Aga Khan was born on December 13, 1936, in Geneva. He spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, and later attended Le Rosey School in Switzerland. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a BA Honours Degree in Islamic history.
Like his grandfather before him, the Aga Khan is concerned with the well-being of all Muslims and the communities in which they live, particularly in the face of the challenges of rapid historical change. Today, Ismaili Muslims live in some 25 countries, mainly in South and Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, as well as in North America and Western Europe.
Over the last 40 years, the Aga Khan has created a number of development programmes and institutions, which have been brought together under the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). All AKDN programmes are conducted without regard to the faith, origin or gender of the people they serve, guided by the ethic of Islam that requires members of the faith to contribute to improving the quality of all human life. The Aga Khan has emphasized the view of Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith, one that teaches compassion and tolerance and that is inherently pluralistic.
AKDN has grown to nine agencies: The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, which works to invest in fragile economies and promote entrepreneurial activity in the developing world; the Aga Khan Foundation, which focuses on rural development, health, education, the strengthening of civil society and the environment; the Aga Khan University, which offers courses in the medical and education fields at ten campuses in Asia, Africa and Europe; the University of Central Asia, with campuses in Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan; and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, which operates microfinance programmes in 20 countries. It also includes the 235 non-profit hospitals, clinics and satellite facilities of the Aga Khan Health Services; the more than 300 schools of the Aga Khan Education Services; and the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, which works to improve housing design and construction, village planning, natural hazard mitigation and environmental sanitation The Aga Khan Trust for Culture encompasses the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the prestigious prize set up to recognize architectural excellence; the Historic Cities Support Programme, which focuses on the physical, social, and economic revitalization of historic sites in the Muslim world; and the Music Initiative in Central Asia, which supports the preservation and promotion of the traditional music of Central Asia.
While each agency pursues its own mandate, all of them work together within the overarching framework of the Aga Khan Development Network so that their different pursuits can interact and act to reinforce one another. Their common goal is to help the poor achieve a level of self-reliance where they are able to plan their own livelihoods and help those even more needy than themselves. Underlying the AKDN's development philosophy is the recognition that values and ideals shape and reflect people's identities and can offer direction and points of reference in a rapidly changing world.
AKDN institutions work in close partnership with the world's major national and international aid and development agencies. The AKDN itself is an independent self-governing system of agencies, institutions, and programmes under the leadership of the Ismaili Imamat.