Browse Programmes
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 16 December 2016, Mawlana Hazar Imam's 80th birthday was celebrated at Aiglemont by Jamati and institutional leaders, who represented the worldwide Ismaili community, and by members of Hazar Imam’s family.
A photo gallery of Mawlana Hazar Imam's 80th birthday celebration at Aiglemont can be viewed at The.Ismaili »
AKYSB UK presents Singalong Saturday: This week we present a piece call ‘Yaqeen’ meaning belief. This composition by the Ismaili Community Ensemble celebrates the legacy of our beloved Imam and the love we have for him. The music fuses classical Western styles with Jazz, Arabic and Indian influences and is played by 20 musicians all of whom contributed to the music making process. The gentle strum of the rubab, beautiful call of the bansuri and the intricate rhythms of the tabla blend seamlessly with the jazzy sounds of the trumpet, saxophone and electric guitar.
The lyrics are sung in both English and Urdu and were devised by the vocalists themselves:
"From a moment to a memory,
Out of darkness, creating energy,
Every action builds your legacy,
One heartbeat to a symphony".
This piece celebrates the diversity of our Jamat and the beliefs and values that bind us.
AKYSB UK presents Singalong Saturday: Shukran is a beautiful piece collaboratively composed by members of ‘Ruhi’, a multi-cultural musical ensemble, celebrates diversity through music. It seamlessly brings together melodic, soulful raags from the East, spiritually uplifting styles from the Middle East, and upbeat rhythms of the West, also highlighting a rap! Diversity is also reflected in the lyrics covering four languages, Arabic, Hindi, English, Persian, taking inspiration from esteemed poets like Rumi. Embedded throughout the song are the heart felt sentiments of a murid for their Lord, with the words ‘Shukran! Ya Noor Azalee!’ Our gratitude, O Eternal Light!
During his Canadian visit, Mawlana Hazar Imam met with the Governor-General of Canada, as well as senior government and Jamati leaders, and granted four Golden Jubilee Darbars across the country. Hazar Imam was joined by the Prime Minister for the opening of the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa.
On 11 July 2007, Mawlana Hazar Imam completed 50 years as Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismailis. Fifty years ago, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, as the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.
As part of the commemoration of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Golden Jubilee, Hazar Imam made official visits to countries around the world. In addition to recognising the friendship and longstanding support of leaders of state, government and other partners in the work of the Ismaili Imamat, Mawlana Hazar Imam granted some 26 Golden Jubilee Darbars to the worldwide Jamat.
This film, Golden Jubilee Memories, provides an opportunity to relive the memories of those Golden Jubilee visits.
Mawlana Hazar Imam made an eight-day Golden Jubilee visit to the United States from 11 – 19 April 2008. During the visit, Hazar Imam granted Darbars in Texas, California, Illinois and Georgia, met with government leaders, and delivered the International Baccalaureate Organisation Peterson Lecture.
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.
Take a break from your day and unwind by participating in a 30-minute Qigong exercise with Munira Jiwa. Qigong is a century-old system of coordinated body postures, movement, breathing, and mindfulness.
Jubilees have traditionally been occasions for the Aga Khan to launch new projects and programmes. In 1983, he launched the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in India. Decades later, the programme continues to support rural communities across India. This film describes a solar irrigation programme developed to help farmers increase their yields.
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 »
A musical performance by Anthem of Joy from Pakistan, performed during the Jubilee Arts International Talent Showcase in Lisbon, Portugal on the afternoon of 8 July 2018.
You can view more Jubilee Arts performances here »
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 »
Mawlana Hazar Imam received the highest award bestowed by the Asia Society, the Asia Game Changer Lifetime Achievement Award, on 01 November for his work to improve the lives of millions in Asia and around the world.
You can read more about this event at The.Ismaili website »
At a momentous and celebratory event held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the Aga Khan Music Awards reached a crescendo, as His Excellency President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Mawlana Hazar Imam, and Prince Amyn awarded prizes to ten laureates, representing 13 countries around the world.
You can read more about this event on The.Ismaili website »
After delivering the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture, Mawlana Hazar Imam sat down with Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies and Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society, Department of South Asian Studies, Harvard University.
A transcript of this interview is available on the AKDN website »
Marking the historic occasion of his Diamond Jubilee, Mawlana Hazar Imam delivered an address to the Portuguese Parliament on 10 July 2018, in the presence of his family, government officials, and leaders of the Jamat and AKDN.