2014, November 2

The Heritage Society
Timeline 2014

2014, December 4 - London. U.K. in his statement at the London Conference for Afghanistan, His Highness The Aga Khan announced further innovations, including in cross-border hydropower, mobile banking, tele-medicine, and support to small and medium enterprises to serve even the most marginalised populations. He also highlighted these four areas for consideration: [News an Speech] [Video Speech]

2014, December 4: London, U.K. PM Nawaz Sharif meets the Aga Khan in London (Pamir Times) - During the meeting a range of issues pertaining to educational, social and economic development of Pakistan were discussed between the two leaders. The PM lauded efforts of the Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan and other parts of the world. He said that the Aga Khan through his network is rendering valuable services in the field of education and health sectors, poverty eradication, and socio-economic uplift of the poor. A large number of leaders from around the world have gathered in London to attend the London Conference on Afghanistan. [More]

2014, November 21: Tehran, Iran - Iran plans to offer the historical Alamut Fortress to UNESCO for a possible inscription on the World Heritage list of the UN organization. Located in Alamut region in Iran’s Qazvin Province, the castle is a mountain structure built on a massive rock in an altitude of 2,100 meters above sea level.The fabled ruin of Alamut Castle owns historical significance dating back to around 1090 AD, when Hassan Sabbah, the leader of Ismailites in Iran, chose the Alamut region as his headquarters. [News from Press-TV]

2014, November 19: Ottawa, Canada - Aga Khan Foundation to built at former war museum site - Danielle Dube wrote in the Ottawa Sun that "The building that once housed the Canadian war museum will be turned into a new international diversity research and educational centre. The NCC approved the site plan and design at its Board of Directors meeting Wednesday, a project that comes to no cost of the NCC in its development stages." The Global Centre for Pluralism will be a great addition to National Capital and making use of an empty heritage building at a prime location, said Russ Mills, chairman of the NCC. Construction for the centre is to begin in April 2015 and end in Oct. 2016.[ More]

2014, November 2: H.H. The Aga Khan arrived in the Kyrgyz Republic for a four day visit in the country. He was received by the Kyrgyz Minister of Education, Kanat Sadykov. During this visit, His Highness will travel to Naryn, where he will review progress on the construction of UCA’s main campus and brief provincial and local leaders on developments, including the opening of the Naryn campus which will admit its first undergraduate students in September 2016. He will also review developments of AKDN’s activities with the country’s senior leadership including His Excellency AlmazbekAtambayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Speaker of Parliament AsylbekJeenbekov, Prime Minister Joomart Otorbayev, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erlan Abdyldaev and Education Minister Kanat Sadykov. AKDN has been engaged in the Kyrgyz Republic since 2000 operating the Aga Khan School in Osh, the Aga Khan Music Initiative, the First Microcredit Company, the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), Jubilee Insurance Kygyzstan and the Aga Khan Foundation working in Osh and Naryn in the fields of rural development, early childhood development, health, education and disaster reduction. [Kabar News and AKIpress]

2014, October 2014: H.H. The Aga Khan IV has announced to his Jamat (community) in a special message read in the Jamatkhanas (places of prayers and congregation) around the world that Princess Salwa, the wife of his eldest son Prince Rahim, is expecting her first baby. [More]

2014, October 20: Paris, France - H.H. The Aga Khan at the inauguration of the Louis Vuitton Fondation by French President, François Hollande. The Fondation has for mission to promote art and culture [More]

2014, October 4: Longchamps, Paris, France - H.H. The Aga Khan attended the Prix de Royallieu (Groupe II) and the Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein at the Hippodrome de Longchamp today Saturday. He was accompanied by Princess Zahra and her daughter Princess Sarah as well as Princess Salwa. H.H. The Aga Khan (center) is seen on the picture talking with the trainer Alain de Royer Dupré (left) and the jockey Christophe Soumillon (right)

2014, September 29: Kabul, Afghanistan The Afghan President Palace media office said in a statement just released that Prince Karim Aga Khan met with the former president Hamid Karzai on Monday. Prince Aga Khan was among the several foreign dinitaries who attended the presidential inauguration which was the first peaceful transition of power in the history of Afghanistan. [More]

2014, September 23: White House, USA: In a Press Statement released today, President Obama announced a new, groundbreaking initiative to support and connect civil society across the globe through the launch of Regional Civil Society Innovation Centers, in partnership with the Government of Sweden and the Aga Khan Development Network. Over the next two years, up to six networked Regional Civil Society Innovation Centers will be created worldwide. These Centers will connect civil society organizations at the regional and global level to each other, new partners, and resources; encourage peer-to-peer learning; provide civil society organizations and their networks with virtual and physical platforms to access tools and technologies that will bolster their work; and amplify civil society voices around the world. Civil society organizations, academia, and technology partners will provide additional financial and in-kind resources, as well as technical expertise, to enhance the value of the Centers to civil society. [More]

2014, September 12:Toronto, Canada The largest Imamate project in Canada, the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Center in Don Mills area, has been officialy inaugurated on 12th of September 2014, the birthday of Prince Amyn, by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the presence of H.H.The Aga Khan. “We celebrate today, then, not only the harmonious meeting of green gardens and glass galleries, or of Italian marble and Canadian maple. We rejoice above all in the special spirit which fills this place and gives it its soul,” Harper said.
[Anecdotes and testimonies]
[Museum - All news (more than 50 articles)]
[Photos] [Speech of H.H. The Aga Khan] [Speech of Prince Amyn] [Speech by Prime Minister Harper] [Jamati events]
[Imamat Event]

2014, September 12: Toronto, Canada - H.H. The Aga Khan will be attending the opening ceremony of the Aga Khan Museum. Subsequently the Museum will be opening to the public six days later from 18th of September 2014 after the official opening in the presence of H.H. The Aga Khan.The museum’s permanent collection will feature over 1,000 items that showcase Islamic art, culture and history. The museum will be celebrating its grand opening with an Opening Music Festival on Sept. 20 and 21. The visit will last several days and we will keep our visitors regularly informed.

2014, August 28: Kabul, Afghanistan - The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) have channeled roughly around $700 million of assistance to Afghanistan since the foundation begun it’s engagement in Afghanistan in 1995. [More news]

2014, August 2: Dar es Salam, Tanzania. H.H. The Aga Khan has arrived today. Tanzania: Aga Khan Development Network to Invest U.S. $1 Billion (Sh1.6 Trillion)in Expansion Plans for Tanzania. The AKU's ambitious plans in East Africa include adding a Faculty of Arts and Sciences, a Faculty of Health Sciences, a permanent facility for its Institute for Educational Development and eight graduate professional schools, with the initial focus on Media and Communications, Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism and Leadership and Management. The total investment over 15 years is estimated at 1.2 billion US dollars of which approximately 1 billion USD will be spent in Tanzania. Prince Zahra Aga Khan, Head of the Social Welfare Department of the AKDN and a Trustee of the University, also participated in the meetings. [More here]

2014, June 21: Aiglon College Graduation Ceremony took place on June 21 2014 in Chesières-Villars, Switzerland. Aiglon was honoured to welcome His Highness the Aga Khan the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims and the founder of the AKDN, as the 2014 Graduation Speaker. [Photos and Speech of H.H. The Aga Khan]

2014. June 12: Lisbon, Portugal - 2013 North-South Prize - Award Ceremony on 12 June 2014 in Lisbon - The North-South Centre of the Council of Europe announces the award of the 2013 North-South Prize to His Highness Prince Aga Khan, Shah Karim al-Hussaini, and the Aga Khan Development Network , and Suzanne Jabbour. [More] [Speech by H.H. The Aga Khan] [Photos released by the Portugal Presidency]

2014, June 6: H.H. The Aga Khan attended the D-Day ceremony. [Photos]

2014, June 5: Dhaka, Bangladesh - Princess Zahra visits Aga Khan School today. Princess Zahra Aga Khan, head of the Social Welfare Department of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), will visit Aga Khan School in Dhaka during its Silver Jubilee programme today. Zahra, the eldest child of AKDN founder chairman Aga Khan, is also expected to meet the AKDN officials. The school is part of an international network of 240 schools in South Asia, Central Asia and East Africa. [Found on The DailyStar.net]

2014, May 29: 1) Toronto 9:30am [Photos here] - 2) Ottawa 6:30pm [Photos]

2014-05-28: Photo - Toronto, Canada - Dinner at the #MNCH with @LaureenHarper, His Highness the Aga Khan, & Tanzanian President @jmkikwete. [More photos] [Read Speech here]

2014, May 28-30: Toronto, Canada - H.H. The Aga Khan will attend The *Saving Every Woman Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach *Summit which will bring together Canadian and international leaders, experts, civil society, businesses, academia, developed and developing countries, international organizations and global foundations to ensure that maternal, newborn and child health remains a core part of the global development agenda. The Summit will be hosted by Prime Minister Harper. [Summit news]

2014, May 25: Ottawa, Canada. His Highness The Aga Khan arrived today evening in Ottawa for a week long visit to attend to several private meetings and public functions including meeting at the Pluralism Center and the Summit in Toronto on saving newborn child and the mother, A Summit which will be webcast and where H.H. The Aga Khan is to present a Speech. The Aga Khan speech at the Summit at 9:30 AM Toronto time (EDT) on Thursday, 29 May. Live Webcast from Toronto here!. Later that day, H.H. The Aga Khan will introduce UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres whose Pluralism lecture will also be Live webcast around 6:30pm from Ottawa through the Globe and Mail.

2014, May 9: Gouvieux, France – The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Aga Khan Development Network today signed a US$ 79.8 million agreement, in an effort to substantially enhance the quality and reach of the Network’s health programmes in Tanzania. Princess Zahra Aga Khan, who heads AKDN’s Social Welfare Department, attended the signing ceremony at the AKDN headquarters in Gouvieux France. The agreement was signed by AFD’s deputy Chief Executive Officer, Jacques Moineville, and Amin Habib, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Aga Khan Health Services in Tanzania. The US $ 79.8 million agreement, which includes a US$ 53.5 million concessional loan from AFD and a US$ 26.3 million contribution from AKDN, covers the construction of a new 14,000 square metre facility that will accommodate cardiology, oncology, neurosciences, critical care, mother and child health, nuclear medicine and imaging services. It also encompasses the establishment of 30 outreach centres across Tanzania that will provide free monitoring, immunization and family planning services.

2014, May 7: World Bank ?@WorldBank 17h - Pres. Jim Kim welcomed His Highness the Aga Khan at World Bank Group London Office to discuss efforts to #endpoverty pic.twitter.com/OP48p1hhN4

2014, April 28: Redwood City, Calif. - The Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) convened in Redwood City, Calif. April 23-25, with participation from foundations, NGOs, and international development and aid agencies. In its fourteenth year, the forum is produced by the World Affairs Council. The event launched in 2001 with a regional Silicon Valley focus, then evolved to a focus on American philanthropists and more recently a focus on global philanthropists, according to Jane Wales, CEO of Global Philanthropy Forum and World Affairs Council, and vice president of the Aspen Institute. Speakers included foundations like Skoll, Packard, Hilton, Aga Khan, Rockefeller Brothers, Heron, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Ford, international organizations such as the World Bank and many more. [More news on this GPF]

2014, April 22: Karachi - Agence Française de Développement, the French finance institution for development, will be loaning US $16 million to the Aga Khan Hospital and Medical College Foundation to support its expansion of infrastructure facilities on the Stadium Road Campus in Karachi. A Memorandum of Understanding confirming the pledge was signed by Mr Denis Cassat, Country Head AFD, and Mr Al-Karim Haji, Director General and Chief Financial Officer, AKU, on April 21, 2014. Ambassador Philippe Thiébaud and Mr Firoz Rasul, President, AKU presided over the ceremony. This loan is part of AKU’s US $150 million investment in expanding academic programmes and improving access to quality health care in Pakistan, a visible statement of commitment to the country. [Observer Report]

2014, March 27: Karachi, Pakistan - AKU to invest $500 million in Education City project - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Wednesday welcomed the keen interest and investment of $500 million by the Aga Khan University management in the Education City project to be established in Karachi in due course of time. He said the project would prove to be one of the best educational facilities in the country and would attract educational organisations of international standard to invest and benefit the students and educational fraternity in Pakistan. [More]

2014, March 10: PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — His Highness the Aga Khan will deliver a Stephen A. Ogden Jr. ’60 Memorial Lecture on International Affairs at Brown University on Monday, March 10, 2014, at 5 p.m. His lecture will take place in Salomon Center for Teaching, De Ciccio Family Auditorium, and will be given as part of Brown's 250th anniversary celebration. . Founded in 1764, Brown was the first among Ivy League colleges to accept students from all religious affiliations. The lecture will also be presented live online.. [More] [Webcast Link] [TEXT OF SPEECH] [PHOTO HERE!] [VIDEO HERE!]

2014, March 1: Interview given by H.H. The Aga Khan to the Globe and Mail’s Editor-in-Chief John Stackhouse for an hour on Friday 28 February 2014. [Excerpts here!]. CBC' Mansbridge's One on One, [Interview available here] and here for details of [$100 milion Protocol signed]

2014, February 28: Toronto, Canada: Prime Minister of Canada has made available the video of the event at Massey Hall. Click this link!

2014, February 27> - Ottawa , Canada web site of the Prime Minister of Canada] [45 minutes CBC television coverage of the 27 February Ottawa speeech video] and read the [Speech of H.H. The Aga Khan to the Canadian Parliament.] [The video of the Parliament event can be download from this link!] [Complete coverage here] [Some unique photos]

2014, February 27: Ottawa, Canada - Address by His Highness the Aga Khan, to be delivered in the Chamber of the House of Commons at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday February 27, 2014. H.H. The Aga Khan will then travel to Toronto to speak at Massey Hall on Friday. [More] [Itinerary] [Webcast link]

2014, February 21:Under the title " The Aga Khan: the singular appeal of a pluralist", Janice Gross Stein of the Globe and Mail writes: " This week, the Aga Khan will be in Ottawa to address a joint session of Parliament, a signal honour reserved for a handful of extraordinary people who have a special relationship with Canada... But what makes the Aga Khan special to Canada? Over the years, he has maintained relationships with a succession of prime ministers of different political stripes, including the current one, who granted him honorary citizenship in 2009 and will welcome him to the House of Commons on Thursday. He is widely respected for his humanitarianism, for his leadership in education and development and his commitment to architecture and beautiful spaces for quiet contemplation. The Canadian bond, though, springs from his dedication to pluralism, something so associated with this country that many Canadians now take it for granted – at their peril." [ More]

2014, February 7: Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that His Highness the Aga Khan will make an official visit to Canada later this month. During his visit, the Aga Khan will meet with Prime Minister Harper, who has invited him to deliver an historic address to Parliament. [More]

2014, February 5: Foreign Minister Steinmeier met Prince Karim Aga Khan today (5 February). Their conversation focused on cooperation between the German Government and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) to help stabilise fragile states. The AKDN is one of the world’s largest non governmental organisations. In part with support from the Federal Foreign Office, it conducts projects in the fields of healthcare, education and culture, primarily in Asia and East Africa.(Text and photo: Tweet by German Foreign Office) - H.H. The Aga Khan also led a delegation of senior AKDN executives to meet with leaders of Germany's KfW Development Bank and its DEG Development Corporation branch

2014, February 3: His Highness the Aga Khan to receive 2013 North-South Prize of The Council of Europe. The North-South Prize has been awarded every year since 1995 to two candidates who have stood out for their exceptional commitment to promoting North-South solidarity. The candidates, preferably a man and a woman, must have distinguished themselves in the following areas: protection of human rights, defense of pluralist democracy, public awareness raising on issues of global interdependence and solidarity, and strengthening the North-South partnership. The North-South Prize Jury met in Strasbourg in December to select the Prize winners and the Prize ceremony will take place in Lisbon in spring 2014.

2014, February 2: Damascus, (SANA) – The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) honored State Minister for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar and Grand Mufti of the Republic Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun for their efforts in the national reconciliation process. The honoring ceremony took place on Sunday at the AKDN office in Damascus. State Minister Haidar said that this gesture honors values, behavior and course, not individuals, calling for bolstering the value of reconciliation and asserting that Syria’s salvation is at hand. Grand Mufti Hassoun underlined the role of the AKDN in instilling noble values, saying that this gesture honors the values inherent in the Syrian people. Hassoun said that the crisis in Syria is in its final phase, and that the Syrian official delegation which participated in Geneva 2 was a badge of honor for Syria and all Arabs. For his part, resident representative of the AKDN in Syria, Mohammad Seifo, stressed the need to shed light on the figures who are working tirelessly on the ground in order to bring the Syrians together and achieve national reconciliation. Similarly, AKDN executive director for cultural services in Syria, Ali Ismael, said that Haidar and Hassoun both share a mutual love for their country, hard work on the ground, and they both sacrifices sons for the sake of Syria.

2014, January 17: Mombasa, Kenya - The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa was honoured by a visit from Prince Rahim Aga Khan and Princess Salwa. They were welcomed by the acting Principal of the Senior School, Mr. Naheed Bardai. Prince Rahim and Princess Salwa were taken on a tour of the school grounds where they visited the Junior and Senior Schools, the residential areas and the sports facilities. They had the opportunity to visit a dual language class and a chemistry class, and to see the Senior School Students Choir perform. They also met with students and spoke with them about their experience at the Aga Khan Academy. [agakhanacademies.org]

2014, January 17 – Prince Rahim, the eldest son of the Aga Khan – the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims – attended the opening of the new corporate head office of Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), one of the oldest financial entities of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. The premises were inaugurated by the governor of Kenya’s central bank, Professor Njuguna S. Ndung'u on Thursday, 16 January. The spacious new facility includes a new retail branch – the bank’s 99th branch in East Africa – a state of the art data centre, a 180-person auditorium, and training facilities. Prince Rahim was accompanied by his wife Princess Salwa. On Friday, in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, Prince Rahim inaugurated the newly restored Jubilee Arcade. The building, which first housed the Jubilee Insurance company over 60 years ago, now includes a vibrant, modern arcade shopping and office complex situated in the heart of the city’s busy Moi Avenue. While in Mombasa, the couple also visited the Aga Khan Academy – the first in a global network of 18 schools that will, eventually span 14 countries on three continents. [akdn.org]

2014, January 15: Nairobi, Kenya - LX-PAK jet is on the tarmac at Nairobi Airport. Prince Rahim and his wife Princess Salwa are expected to attend the official opening ceremony of the new DTB Centre on Mombasa Road tomorrow and Friday another branch of DTB in Mombasa town where they may also visit the AK Academy. Prince Amyn and Princess Zahra are also in town for AKDN work. Prince Amyn will be attending the Serena Board meeting expected in Nairobi Saturday. During this visit, they are also expected in Mombasa and Arusha for more institutional work.




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