Understanding AKDN
Opening session of the IIS's 25th Anniversary conference "Word of God, Art of Man - the Qur'an and its Creative Expressions" at The Ismaili Centre, London, including keynote address by Mawlana Hazar Imam and Professor Oleg Grabar (Princeton University), introduced by Professor Azim Nanji (Director, IIS).
Dr Laila Halani, Course Director, Head of Graduate Studies at the IIS, provides a useful introduction and insight, for prospective students, to GPISH the IIS's Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities.
The five projects selected for the 2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) were announced at a ceremony held at the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar on 24 November 2010. His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani the Emir of Qatar and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser joined His Highness the Aga Khan in presiding over the ceremony.
Learn more about the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) on the AKDN website »
The recipients of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) were honoured at a ceremony at the Al Jahili fort in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates on Sunday, 6 November 2016. The six winners of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture were announced on 3 October at a press conference held in the United Arab Emirates.
The recipient projects — which are in Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Iran, and Lebanon — offer creative responses to contemporary issues such as climate change, connectivity between people, and the challenge of adapting to new contexts.
This ceremony is the culmination of the 13th cycle of the Award, which His Highness the Aga Khan established in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully addressed the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. Over the past 39 years, prizes have been given to 116 projects across the world, from France to China.
Learn more about the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) on the AKDN website »
On 13 September 2019, he six winning projects of the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) were acclaimed at a ceremony held at Kazan’s Musa Jalil State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Learn more about the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) on the AKDN website »
On 16 May 2017, His Highness the Aga Khan and His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada officially opened the Centre’s new permanent headquarters at 330 Sussex Drive in Ottawa.
On 25 November 1977, His Highness the Aga Khan officially inaugurated The Institute of Ismaili Studies. On Friday 24 November 2017, we celebrated its 40th anniversary, where the Board of Governors hosted an event to celebrate the people who have contributed to developing an academic centre for Ismaili studies, that has had a significant impact on the field of Shi‘i and Ismaili studies in the last 40 years.
From 1999 to 2007, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) undertook conservation work on the citadels of Aleppo, Salah ad-Din and Masyaf in partnership with the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums. Work focused in three main areas: conservation of the Citadels; training of antiquities staff, local craftsmen and building professionals in modern conservation practice (while the conservation projects were carried out); and development of re-utilisation plans for the Citadels, including management guidelines and investments in visitor infrastructure such as visitor centres, pathways, signage, etc.
You can read more about AKDN's work in Syria on the AKDN website »
The short documentary, Islamic Gardens: Catalysts for Change, is about the vast network of parks and gardens around the world developed by the Ismaili Imamat, under the leadership of His Highness the Aga Khan.
Gardens bring people of different backgrounds together to enjoy and appreciate nature. They also seek to improve people’s quality of life by providing spaces for reflection, spirituality, education and leisure.
The creation of parks and gardens has been an important part of the AKDN's work, with the objective of using green spaces to catalyse positive economic, social and cultural change. This short documentary "Islamic Gardens: Catalysts for Change" is about the Network’s vast network of parks and gardens. It explores their significance and the reasons for creating and revitalising parks and gardens, including their role as spiritual and communal spaces, in environmental stewardship, their capacity to act as springboards for economic development, and their role as educational spaces to teach about the rich diversity and heritage of Muslim cultures and civilisations.
The film looks at the numerous park and garden projects undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, as well as those found in the Ismaili Centres and many other spaces globally, with special focus on the three projects opened during the Diamond Jubilee year of the Aga Khan: the Sunder Nursery in India, the Islamic Gardens at Kings Cross found in the Aga Khan Centre in London, and the Aga Khan Garden in Edmonton.
You can read more about AKDN's Parks and Gardens projects on the AKDN website »
His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor of AKU, presides over the 2015 Convocation ceremony of the Aga Khan University in Kampala, Uganda.
To learn more about the Close to Home film series, visit the Close to Home website »
In October 2017, Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan visited the north of Pakistan to learn more about the effects of natural disasters. During his seven day trip to the region, Prince Aly Muhammad met with numerous families whose quality of life has been enhanced by the Network. This film, written, directed and voiced by Prince Aly Muhammad, is his personal account of his discussions with the communities in the region and how the Aga Khan Development Network is partnering with them to find solutions to the problems caused by natural disasters.
Learn more about AKDN's work in Pakistan on the AKDN website »
To learn more about the Close to Home film series, visit the Close to Home website »
Al-Khimyah, written and directed by Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan, explores the work of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in the historic city of Cairo, Egypt.
The film shines a spotlight on the 30-hectare Al-Azhar Park — converted from a mound of rubble — and the stories of local residents of the adjacent Darb al-Ahmar neighbourhood. Since opening in 2005 after 20 years of careful excavation and design, Al-Azhar Park has provided much-needed leisure and recreational space to the inhabitants of the city, and is today often referred to as "Cairo's green lung."
Located in the heart of Egypt’s capital, the urban oasis has become a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Landscaping features include walkways, fountains, lawns, and gardens overlooking a lake in the traditional chahar bagh style. Hundreds of young men and women have found work in the park, in horticulture and park maintenance: The park features over 300 different plant species — many native to Egypt — grown in a special nursery, and an orchard provides shade from the sun.
The park has also proven to be a powerful catalyst for urban renewal, evolving beyond the green space itself to include the restoration of monuments and public spaces, and socioeconomic initiatives including housing rehabilitation, microfinance, crafts apprenticeships, and healthcare.
The film is Prince Aly Muhammad's account of a city whose foundations were laid over a thousand years ago, which has seen a 500-year-old rubbish dump rebuilt into a lush green oasis, and a poor inner-city district transformed into a thriving community.
Learn more about AKDN's work in Egypt on the AKDN website »
His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor of AKU, presides over the 2015 Convocation ceremony of the Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya.
His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor of AKU, presides over the 2015 Convocation ceremony of the Aga Khan University in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
On 16 October 2018, Lt Governor of Alberta Lois Mitchell, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and the Aga Khan inaugurated the new Aga Khan Garden, Alberta, the northern-most Islamic garden in the world, and the first garden of its kind in western Canada.
The Aga Khan Centre was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in the presence of Mawlana Hazar Imam on 26 June 2018 at an inauguration ceremony in Kings Cross, London, during Hazar Imam's Diamond Jubilee visit to the United Kingdom.
The Aga Khan Academy Maputo is committed to developing future leaders by delivering Excellence in Education. We offer merit-based admission to our International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at our purpose-built world-class campus in Maputo, Mozambique. Watch our newly released video to learn more about our unique offering, or visit www.agakhanacademies.org/maputo for further information.