Aga Khan Addresses Canadian Parliament on Global Development and Pluralism

Aga Khan's Address to Canadian Parliament

• 💬 Mawlana Shah Karim Al-Husayni, Aga Khan IV, addressed a joint session of the Canadian Parliament, emphasizing the Ismaili people's resilience amidst conflicts in regions like Afghanistan and Syria.
• 💡 The address highlighted the Aga Khan Development Network's (AKDN) core mission to improve the quality of human life globally.

AKDN's Core Philosophy

• 🌱 AKDN's work is driven by an age-old Islamic ethic, focusing on universally relevant goals such as the elimination of poverty, access to education, and fostering social peace in pluralistic environments.
• 🎯 The primary objective is to enhance the quality of human life, recognizing a shared aspiration for betterment across diverse populations.
• 📊 A UNDP survey in South America indicated that people often prioritize an improved quality of life over specific forms of government, even autocratic ones, if effective.

Canada's Exemplary Leadership

• 👏 The Aga Khan praised Canada as an exemplary leader in global efforts to address challenges, particularly through its strong collaboration with AKDN.
• 🤝 This partnership spans over a quarter century, demonstrating a shared commitment to humanitarian and philanthropic services worldwide.

Key Collaborative Initiatives

• 📚 Early collaborations included establishing the first private nursing school in Pakistan (Aga Khan University) with McMaster and CIDA, which has had a significant regional impact.
• 📈 Canada supported the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in northern Pakistan, which successfully tripled incomes in marginalized areas and shaped approaches in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, and Mozambique.
• 🎓 Joint efforts also led to the Aga Khan University's Institute for Educational Development in Karachi and East Africa, alongside other educational initiatives and pioneering work in early childhood development.
• 🌍 The University of Central Asia, a unique tripartite treaty institution with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, serves 22 million people in vulnerable mountain regions.
• 🏛️ A significant joint project is the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, established with the Canadian government, promoting Canada's robust pluralistic history.

Future Vision and Pluralism

• ✨ The Global Centre for Pluralism will play a crucial role in celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017, sharing its pluralistic history globally.
• 🚀 There's an aspiration to use the 2017 celebrations as a catalyst to improve the entire riverfront area around the Global Centre's headquarters in Ottawa.