Ismaili Centre Conversations

Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, CEO of the Aga Khan Museum, speaks with Christopher Wilton-Steer, photographer of The Silk Road: A Living History exhibition about his 40,000 km journey across the historic silk route and his experiences witnessing the intricate connections between distant cultures. Created in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation, the exhibition features photographs from Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, India, and China.

Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is commemorated as a joyous occasion by almost two billion followers around the world. During his lifetime, the Holy Prophet established a paradigm of life for Muslims, embracing a harmony between spiritual and material, respect for the dignity of all human life, and equitable social order. His model of leadership, rooted in honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness, serves as an exemplar to this day, for millions. ​ On Sunday, October 17, we commemorate this historic occasion with inspiring remarks from special guests Dr. Aman Haji and Professor Adel Iskandar, as well as poetry and visuals to lift the spirit as we honour the Prophet's legacy.

Photographer Gary Otte has taken many thousands of photos of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s visits to his Jamats, his meetings with world leaders, and AKDN projects across the world. In this exclusive interview, Mr. Otte describes his motivation to compile a visual record of Hazar Imam’s life and work, centered around photos taken by him and other photographers over the course of eight decades. The book, entitled Depth of Field, is now available to pre-order from The Ismaili Shop.

In a conversation with Zahra Jivan, city builder and civic leader Zahra Ebrahim share stories from her projects to show the link between design and justice, and especially how we can frame problems in a people-centered manner to enable individuals to design their own solutions.

In this episode of Visionary Voices, Khalil Shariff, CEO of Aga Khan Foundation, Canada explores the topic of resilience in the face of crisis.

The pandemic has forced institutions of higher learning to re-think their future by challenging the suitability, viability, and sustainability of university-operating models. Institutions must reassess and adapt their strategies if they are to survive and thrive after the pandemic. Farah Nasser moderates a discussion between Dr. Jay Johnson, President of Simon Fraser University; Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, President of Ryerson University; Dr. Graham Carr, President of Concordia University and Dr. Deborah MacLatchy, President of Wilfrid Laurier University.