Muslim leader Aga Khan to receive U of A honorary degree
By Keith Gerein, edmontonjournal.comApril 9, 2009 11:15 AM
EDMONTON — The spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims, and a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights are among 12 leaders set to receive honorary degrees from the University of Alberta.
The special honours will be bestowed June 3 - 11, when the recipients will speak to graduating classes during the U of A’s spring convocation ceremonies.
One of the most anticipated speeches will come from the Aga Khan, the Ismaili leader and founder of an international development agency working to help people living in poverty. The Aga Khan, who was last in Western Canada in November, will speak on June 9.
Hazar Imam coming back to CANADA!!!! Al-hamdullilah
April 16, 2009
University of Alberta to honour Aga Khan
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada—His Highness the Aga Khan is among 12 people to be honoured by the University of Alberta for their enduring contributions to society. The Aga Khan will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree on June 9 during convocation ceremonies.
“I have tremendous respect for the Aga Khan’s commitment to rural development, economic self-sufficiency and improved health and education for some of the poorest people in our world. The vision of the University of Alberta is to inspire the human spirit, and I believe each of our 12 honorary degree recipients will be a source of inspiration for our students and our community,” said Linda Hughes, chancellor of the U of A.
The Aga Khan is committed to helping resolve economic and social issues worldwide through the Aga Khan Development Network of which he is founder and chair. One of the world’s largest private non-denominational development groups, the network also promotes cultural affairs and civil society programs. The Aga Khan Development Network has established hospitals, educational facilities and microfinance agencies among other similar groups in 30 countries.
Understood to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He was 20 when he became the Imam of the Ismailis in July 1957. Two years later, he graduated with honors from Harvard University with a degree in Islamic history.
Also receiving degrees will be former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour; sustainable development and natural conservation expert James Westvick Thorsell; respiratory physiologist Eliot A. Phillipson; clinical geneticist Michael Hayden; philanthropists Diane and Irving Kipnes; social scientist James G. March; literary scholar Juliet McMaster; Inuit political and environmental spokesperson Sheila Watt-Cloutier; literary scholar Ruby Wiebe and pioneering chemist, biotechnology and life-sciences consultant Yves Fouron.
-30-
www.ualberta.ca/publicaffairs
University of Alberta to honour Aga Khan
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada—His Highness the Aga Khan is among 12 people to be honoured by the University of Alberta for their enduring contributions to society. The Aga Khan will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree on June 9 during convocation ceremonies.
“I have tremendous respect for the Aga Khan’s commitment to rural development, economic self-sufficiency and improved health and education for some of the poorest people in our world. The vision of the University of Alberta is to inspire the human spirit, and I believe each of our 12 honorary degree recipients will be a source of inspiration for our students and our community,” said Linda Hughes, chancellor of the U of A.
The Aga Khan is committed to helping resolve economic and social issues worldwide through the Aga Khan Development Network of which he is founder and chair. One of the world’s largest private non-denominational development groups, the network also promotes cultural affairs and civil society programs. The Aga Khan Development Network has established hospitals, educational facilities and microfinance agencies among other similar groups in 30 countries.
Understood to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He was 20 when he became the Imam of the Ismailis in July 1957. Two years later, he graduated with honors from Harvard University with a degree in Islamic history.
Also receiving degrees will be former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour; sustainable development and natural conservation expert James Westvick Thorsell; respiratory physiologist Eliot A. Phillipson; clinical geneticist Michael Hayden; philanthropists Diane and Irving Kipnes; social scientist James G. March; literary scholar Juliet McMaster; Inuit political and environmental spokesperson Sheila Watt-Cloutier; literary scholar Ruby Wiebe and pioneering chemist, biotechnology and life-sciences consultant Yves Fouron.
-30-
www.ualberta.ca/publicaffairs
Humanitarians, philanthropists, leaders celebrated at U of A spring convocation
By ExpressNews Staff
His Highness the Aga Khan will receive an honorary degree from the U of A
April 14, 2009 - Edmonton-Twelve acclaimed individuals will be honoured this June with honorary degrees from the University of Alberta.
"On behalf of the university senate, I am pleased to announce an outstanding slate of international, national and community leaders and academics whose achievements and service to society are an inspiration," said Linda Hughes, chancellor of the U of A.
The following 12 recipients of the university's highest honour will deliver addresses during convocation ceremonies June 3-11.
As one of only 165 living Companions of the Order of Canada, the Hon. Louise Arbour served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2004-08. In July 2009 she will become president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, one of the world's leading independent, non-partisan sources of analysis and advice on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. Arbour will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 3.
Michael Hayden, one of Canada's more prominent clinical geneticists, best known for his work on Huntington's disease, carries out a diverse research program that reflects his desire to improve the human condition and his deep concern for people affected with often forgotten genetic diseases. He will host the next World Congress on Huntington's disease in September 2009. Hayden will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science on June 4.
James Westvick Thorsell is internationally renowned for his work with UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. A U of A alumnus, Thorsell began his career working for Parks Canada in Banff and was an early pioneer of sustainable development and natural conservation. His field experience covers more than 600 protected areas in 90 countries including Antarctica, the Serengeti, the Galapagos Islands and Mount Everest. Thorsell will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 4.
Eliot A. Phillipson is a highly respected U of A alumnus who has received international recognition for his work as a respiratory physiologist. His research has expanded the understanding of obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially fatal illness. A visionary advocate for investments in research infrastructure, he became the president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation in 2004. Phillipson will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science on June 5.
Dianne and Irving Kipnes are long-standing Edmonton residents whose contributions to the arts, health care and post-secondary education represent outstanding commitments to community service and philanthropy. Their combined leadership of the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation has provided essential support for diverse initiatives including cancer research, a new veterans' hospital and the Edmonton Opera. The Kipnes will each receive Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees on June 8.
James G. March, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking work on organizational decision-making. He is an interdisciplinary social scientist who has written several books of poetry and published in elite journals in four disciplines: political science, economics, sociology and organization theory. He has received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Academy of Management in New York. March will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 9.
His Highness the Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and the creator of the Aga Khan Development Network, a private international non-denominational development agency working in 30 countries to improve the lives of millions of the world's poorest people and to build a global culture of tolerance. The Aga Khan is a Knight Commander of the British Empire and an Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada. Aga Khan will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 9.
Juliet McMaster, founder of the Juvenilia Press, was the first U of A faculty member to be awarded the highly distinguished Molson Prize, an award made jointly by the Canada Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to only one Canadian scholar each year honouring outstanding lifetime contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of Canada. McMaster will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters on June 10.
Rudy Wiebe has been a vital presence in Canadian literature and culture for more than 40 years. Co-founder of the Writers' Guild of Alberta and the Writers' Guild of Canada, he has mentored many younger writers. Recipient of the 2007 Charles Taylor Award for his memoir Of This Earth, Wiebe is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a two-time winner of the Governor-General's Award for fiction. Wiebe will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters on June 10.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is a Canadian Inuit political and environmental spokesperson. In her work with the Inuit Circumpolar Council, she played a leadership role in the negotiation of the Stockholm Convention, which banned the manufacture and use of persistent organic pollutants that affect the Arctic food chain and human health. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Watt-Cloutier will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 11.
Yves Fouron, an accomplished U of A alumnus, is a pioneering chemist, entrepreneur and consultant in the biotechnology and life-sciences industries. He co-founded Chembiomed Ltd., one of the first biotechnology companies in Canada, and he has been instrumental in the commercialization of research advances internationally. Fouron is chair of the management advisory board of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science. Fouron will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science on June 11.
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=10103
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfvjdmwn_149nkz898g2
By ExpressNews Staff
His Highness the Aga Khan will receive an honorary degree from the U of A
April 14, 2009 - Edmonton-Twelve acclaimed individuals will be honoured this June with honorary degrees from the University of Alberta.
"On behalf of the university senate, I am pleased to announce an outstanding slate of international, national and community leaders and academics whose achievements and service to society are an inspiration," said Linda Hughes, chancellor of the U of A.
The following 12 recipients of the university's highest honour will deliver addresses during convocation ceremonies June 3-11.
As one of only 165 living Companions of the Order of Canada, the Hon. Louise Arbour served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2004-08. In July 2009 she will become president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, one of the world's leading independent, non-partisan sources of analysis and advice on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. Arbour will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 3.
Michael Hayden, one of Canada's more prominent clinical geneticists, best known for his work on Huntington's disease, carries out a diverse research program that reflects his desire to improve the human condition and his deep concern for people affected with often forgotten genetic diseases. He will host the next World Congress on Huntington's disease in September 2009. Hayden will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science on June 4.
James Westvick Thorsell is internationally renowned for his work with UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. A U of A alumnus, Thorsell began his career working for Parks Canada in Banff and was an early pioneer of sustainable development and natural conservation. His field experience covers more than 600 protected areas in 90 countries including Antarctica, the Serengeti, the Galapagos Islands and Mount Everest. Thorsell will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 4.
Eliot A. Phillipson is a highly respected U of A alumnus who has received international recognition for his work as a respiratory physiologist. His research has expanded the understanding of obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially fatal illness. A visionary advocate for investments in research infrastructure, he became the president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation in 2004. Phillipson will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science on June 5.
Dianne and Irving Kipnes are long-standing Edmonton residents whose contributions to the arts, health care and post-secondary education represent outstanding commitments to community service and philanthropy. Their combined leadership of the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation has provided essential support for diverse initiatives including cancer research, a new veterans' hospital and the Edmonton Opera. The Kipnes will each receive Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees on June 8.
James G. March, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking work on organizational decision-making. He is an interdisciplinary social scientist who has written several books of poetry and published in elite journals in four disciplines: political science, economics, sociology and organization theory. He has received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Academy of Management in New York. March will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 9.
His Highness the Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and the creator of the Aga Khan Development Network, a private international non-denominational development agency working in 30 countries to improve the lives of millions of the world's poorest people and to build a global culture of tolerance. The Aga Khan is a Knight Commander of the British Empire and an Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada. Aga Khan will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 9.
Juliet McMaster, founder of the Juvenilia Press, was the first U of A faculty member to be awarded the highly distinguished Molson Prize, an award made jointly by the Canada Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to only one Canadian scholar each year honouring outstanding lifetime contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of Canada. McMaster will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters on June 10.
Rudy Wiebe has been a vital presence in Canadian literature and culture for more than 40 years. Co-founder of the Writers' Guild of Alberta and the Writers' Guild of Canada, he has mentored many younger writers. Recipient of the 2007 Charles Taylor Award for his memoir Of This Earth, Wiebe is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a two-time winner of the Governor-General's Award for fiction. Wiebe will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters on June 10.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is a Canadian Inuit political and environmental spokesperson. In her work with the Inuit Circumpolar Council, she played a leadership role in the negotiation of the Stockholm Convention, which banned the manufacture and use of persistent organic pollutants that affect the Arctic food chain and human health. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Watt-Cloutier will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 11.
Yves Fouron, an accomplished U of A alumnus, is a pioneering chemist, entrepreneur and consultant in the biotechnology and life-sciences industries. He co-founded Chembiomed Ltd., one of the first biotechnology companies in Canada, and he has been instrumental in the commercialization of research advances internationally. Fouron is chair of the management advisory board of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science. Fouron will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science on June 11.
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=10103
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfvjdmwn_149nkz898g2
Aga Khan Development Network - Media advisory - His Highness the Aga Khan to receive Honorary degree and deepen partnership with University of Alberta
EDMONTON, June 8 /CNW Telbec/ - His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual
leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan
Development Network (AKDN), will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree
from the University of Alberta on June 9th in recognition of his efforts to
improve the lives of millions of the world's poorest people and build a global
culture of tolerance.
During his visit to Edmonton, the Aga Khan will meet with Premier Ed
Stelmach and University of Alberta President, Dr. Indira Samarasekera as well
as witness the signing of an agreement to enhance collaboration with the
University of Alberta
The Ismaili Imamat has a long tradition of leadership in educational
development, going back to the founding of Al-Azhar University and the Academy
of Science, Dar al-Ilm, in Cairo, over 1000 years ago. Today, AKDN operates
two universities, the Aga Khan University, which was founded in Pakistan over
25 years ago and has campuses in 8 countries, and the University of Central
Asia with campuses in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The Network's multiple endeavours in the areas of education currently
include over 300 schools and advanced educational programmes that provide
quality pre-school, primary, secondary, and higher secondary education
services to students throughout the world.
AKU has enjoyed more than a quarter century of close associations with
several universities in Canada and across the world including University of
Alberta, McMaster University, the University of Waterloo, University of
Toronto, Harvard University and Oxford University.
The partnerships with Canada extend well beyond education: Aga Khan
Foundation Canada, (AKFC) has been active with the Canadian International
Development Agency for over 25 years in leading edge development initiatives
in Africa and Asia.
Notes:
His Highness the Aga Khan
His Highness the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary Imam (Spiritual leader)
of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan
Development Network (AKDN). The AKDN is a group of private, non-denominational
development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve
living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central
and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network's nine development agencies
focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens,
regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN's underlying ethic is
compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for philanthropic
activity is in excess of US$500 million.
Recent Canadian Initiatives
In 2006, the Aga Khan and the Government of Canada signed a funding
agreement towards the development of a new international initiative, the
Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, dedicated to the creation of successful
societies. The Centre is founded on cherished Canadian values of tolerance,
openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and
faiths of other peoples and that these values are now essential to the very
survival of an interdependent world.
The Aga Khan, an Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada, last visited
the country in December 2008, as part of the commemoration of his fifty years
as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims. During
the commemorative visit, the Aga Khan inaugurated the Delegation of the
Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Canada, the
Right Honourable Stephen Harper.
The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, serves a permanent representational
role for the activities of the Imamat in Canada, and as stated by His Highness
the Aga Khan represents "a new creative link between the spiritual dimensions
of Islam and the cultures of the West, and even more particularly, it
represents another new bridge between the peoples of Islam and the peoples of
Canada."
Other projects under development in Canada are the Aga Khan Museum,
housing exceptional collections of Islamic art, the gardens and the Ismaili
Centre in Toronto.
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
members of the media/
For further information: Mohib Samnani, Aga Khan Council for Edmonton,
(780) 964-2944, [email protected]; Laurie Peters, Aga Khan Foundation
Canada (AKFC), (613) 237-2532 X 120, [email protected]; Semin Abdulla, Department
of Communications, Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan, +33 3 44 58 40
00, [email protected]; www.akdn.org
His Highness the Aga Khan and Prince Hussain Aga Khan are greeted by the Honorable Dave Hancock, Alberta Minister of Education, and by Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, upon their arrival at Edmonton International Airport on Sunday, June 7. (CNW Group/Aga Khan Council for Canada)
His Highness the Aga Khan in discussion with Prime Minister Stephen Harper at 24 Sussex Drive in December 2008. (CNW Group/Aga Khan Council for Canada)
AGA KHAN COUNCIL FOR CANADA - More on this organization
News Releases
(7)
CNW Group Photo Archive
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2005 CNW Group Ltd.
EDMONTON, June 8 /CNW Telbec/ - His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual
leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan
Development Network (AKDN), will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree
from the University of Alberta on June 9th in recognition of his efforts to
improve the lives of millions of the world's poorest people and build a global
culture of tolerance.
During his visit to Edmonton, the Aga Khan will meet with Premier Ed
Stelmach and University of Alberta President, Dr. Indira Samarasekera as well
as witness the signing of an agreement to enhance collaboration with the
University of Alberta
The Ismaili Imamat has a long tradition of leadership in educational
development, going back to the founding of Al-Azhar University and the Academy
of Science, Dar al-Ilm, in Cairo, over 1000 years ago. Today, AKDN operates
two universities, the Aga Khan University, which was founded in Pakistan over
25 years ago and has campuses in 8 countries, and the University of Central
Asia with campuses in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The Network's multiple endeavours in the areas of education currently
include over 300 schools and advanced educational programmes that provide
quality pre-school, primary, secondary, and higher secondary education
services to students throughout the world.
AKU has enjoyed more than a quarter century of close associations with
several universities in Canada and across the world including University of
Alberta, McMaster University, the University of Waterloo, University of
Toronto, Harvard University and Oxford University.
The partnerships with Canada extend well beyond education: Aga Khan
Foundation Canada, (AKFC) has been active with the Canadian International
Development Agency for over 25 years in leading edge development initiatives
in Africa and Asia.
Notes:
His Highness the Aga Khan
His Highness the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary Imam (Spiritual leader)
of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan
Development Network (AKDN). The AKDN is a group of private, non-denominational
development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve
living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central
and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network's nine development agencies
focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens,
regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN's underlying ethic is
compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for philanthropic
activity is in excess of US$500 million.
Recent Canadian Initiatives
In 2006, the Aga Khan and the Government of Canada signed a funding
agreement towards the development of a new international initiative, the
Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, dedicated to the creation of successful
societies. The Centre is founded on cherished Canadian values of tolerance,
openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and
faiths of other peoples and that these values are now essential to the very
survival of an interdependent world.
The Aga Khan, an Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada, last visited
the country in December 2008, as part of the commemoration of his fifty years
as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims. During
the commemorative visit, the Aga Khan inaugurated the Delegation of the
Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Canada, the
Right Honourable Stephen Harper.
The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, serves a permanent representational
role for the activities of the Imamat in Canada, and as stated by His Highness
the Aga Khan represents "a new creative link between the spiritual dimensions
of Islam and the cultures of the West, and even more particularly, it
represents another new bridge between the peoples of Islam and the peoples of
Canada."
Other projects under development in Canada are the Aga Khan Museum,
housing exceptional collections of Islamic art, the gardens and the Ismaili
Centre in Toronto.
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
members of the media/
For further information: Mohib Samnani, Aga Khan Council for Edmonton,
(780) 964-2944, [email protected]; Laurie Peters, Aga Khan Foundation
Canada (AKFC), (613) 237-2532 X 120, [email protected]; Semin Abdulla, Department
of Communications, Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan, +33 3 44 58 40
00, [email protected]; www.akdn.org
His Highness the Aga Khan and Prince Hussain Aga Khan are greeted by the Honorable Dave Hancock, Alberta Minister of Education, and by Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, upon their arrival at Edmonton International Airport on Sunday, June 7. (CNW Group/Aga Khan Council for Canada)
His Highness the Aga Khan in discussion with Prime Minister Stephen Harper at 24 Sussex Drive in December 2008. (CNW Group/Aga Khan Council for Canada)
AGA KHAN COUNCIL FOR CANADA - More on this organization
News Releases
(7)
CNW Group Photo Archive
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2005 CNW Group Ltd.
Honours for the Aga Khan from Edmonton, Ottawa
1:30pm
Click here to email Scott Johnston
6/9/2009
The Aga Khan has signed a memorandum of understanding during his visit in our city that will create a closer working relationship between the U of A and his "development network" of schools around the world.
U of A president Indira Samarasekera says this agreement expands the previous working relationship that saw Health care instructors from Edmonton help with nursing students in east Africa.
The Aga Khan is also receiving an honourary law degree from the U of A.
Meanwhile, Canada will grant the Aga Khan honorary citizenship for what Prime Minister Stephen Harper describes as his exemplary humanitarianism and long friendship with Canada.
Shah Kari al-Hussayni, who is in Edmonton to receive an honourary degree from the University of Alberta, is the 49th Aga Khan, or imam to Shia Ismaili Muslims, and is widely recognized for his work against poverty and his promotion of tolerance.
Now 72, he is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, which works in Asia and Africa and is one of the world's largest private development networks.
Harper told the House of Commons the Aga Khan is "a beacon of humanitarianism," of pluralism and of tolerance throughout the entire world.
Honorary Canadian citizenship is bestowed by the Governor General and requires the unanimous approval of all voting MPs.
Four others have received the honour. They are Swedish diplomat and Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg (posthumously in 1985); former South Africa president and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela (2001); the Dalai Lama (2006); and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi (2007), a Nobel laureate who has spent most of the last 20 years under house arrest in her native Myanmar.(The Canadian Press/bp)
http://www.inews880.com/Channels/Reg/Lo ... ID=1101383
1:30pm
Click here to email Scott Johnston
6/9/2009
The Aga Khan has signed a memorandum of understanding during his visit in our city that will create a closer working relationship between the U of A and his "development network" of schools around the world.
U of A president Indira Samarasekera says this agreement expands the previous working relationship that saw Health care instructors from Edmonton help with nursing students in east Africa.
The Aga Khan is also receiving an honourary law degree from the U of A.
Meanwhile, Canada will grant the Aga Khan honorary citizenship for what Prime Minister Stephen Harper describes as his exemplary humanitarianism and long friendship with Canada.
Shah Kari al-Hussayni, who is in Edmonton to receive an honourary degree from the University of Alberta, is the 49th Aga Khan, or imam to Shia Ismaili Muslims, and is widely recognized for his work against poverty and his promotion of tolerance.
Now 72, he is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, which works in Asia and Africa and is one of the world's largest private development networks.
Harper told the House of Commons the Aga Khan is "a beacon of humanitarianism," of pluralism and of tolerance throughout the entire world.
Honorary Canadian citizenship is bestowed by the Governor General and requires the unanimous approval of all voting MPs.
Four others have received the honour. They are Swedish diplomat and Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg (posthumously in 1985); former South Africa president and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela (2001); the Dalai Lama (2006); and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi (2007), a Nobel laureate who has spent most of the last 20 years under house arrest in her native Myanmar.(The Canadian Press/bp)
http://www.inews880.com/Channels/Reg/Lo ... ID=1101383
Aga Khan inspires Alberta grads
By Keith Gerein, Edmonton JournalJune 10, 2009 2:01 AM
The spiritual leader of the world's Ismaili Muslims stood before a crowd of University of Alberta graduates Tuesday and implored them to use their education to spread Canada's success as a multicultural society.
The world is suffering through a "deficit" of ethical conduct and respect for pluralism, and educated people are badly needed to guide humanity on the right path, the Aga Khan said to a packed Jubilee Auditorium.
"A pluralistic attitude is not something with which people are born --an instinctive fear of what is different is perhaps a more common human trait," he said.
"But such fear is a condition that can be transcended and that is why teaching about pluralism is such an important objective, at every educational level."
He made his comments while receiving a honorary doctor of laws degreeattheUofA's spring convocation, the fourth such distinction he holds from Canadian universities.
The Aga Khan has served for the past 52 years as the leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismailis, including some 100,000 in Canada.
"He's visionary leader, but also a spiritual leader and that puts him in a very elite category," university president Indira Samarasekera said. "In many respects, for our Ismaili community, having his Highness here is the equivalent of having the Pope here for Catholics."
She said the university invited him to campus because of his work creating the Aga Khan Development Network, a broad-based organization directing improvements in some of the poorest parts of the world, particularly parts of Asia and Africa. The network's services range from school programs and health-care to economic development and architecture preservation.
Education is a major part of the network's mandate, the Aga Khan told the Journal in an interview following the ceremony.
The graduates he spoke to Tuesday were mainly aspiring teachers, and he said he hopes they will contribute to improving the standards of education around the world.
He declined to use the word "obligation," but said he sees in today's generation of young adults a spirit of "generosity" to share their knowledge.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 2&sponsor=
By Keith Gerein, Edmonton JournalJune 10, 2009 2:01 AM
The spiritual leader of the world's Ismaili Muslims stood before a crowd of University of Alberta graduates Tuesday and implored them to use their education to spread Canada's success as a multicultural society.
The world is suffering through a "deficit" of ethical conduct and respect for pluralism, and educated people are badly needed to guide humanity on the right path, the Aga Khan said to a packed Jubilee Auditorium.
"A pluralistic attitude is not something with which people are born --an instinctive fear of what is different is perhaps a more common human trait," he said.
"But such fear is a condition that can be transcended and that is why teaching about pluralism is such an important objective, at every educational level."
He made his comments while receiving a honorary doctor of laws degreeattheUofA's spring convocation, the fourth such distinction he holds from Canadian universities.
The Aga Khan has served for the past 52 years as the leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismailis, including some 100,000 in Canada.
"He's visionary leader, but also a spiritual leader and that puts him in a very elite category," university president Indira Samarasekera said. "In many respects, for our Ismaili community, having his Highness here is the equivalent of having the Pope here for Catholics."
She said the university invited him to campus because of his work creating the Aga Khan Development Network, a broad-based organization directing improvements in some of the poorest parts of the world, particularly parts of Asia and Africa. The network's services range from school programs and health-care to economic development and architecture preservation.
Education is a major part of the network's mandate, the Aga Khan told the Journal in an interview following the ceremony.
The graduates he spoke to Tuesday were mainly aspiring teachers, and he said he hopes they will contribute to improving the standards of education around the world.
He declined to use the word "obligation," but said he sees in today's generation of young adults a spirit of "generosity" to share their knowledge.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 2&sponsor=