Gems of Wisdom

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“Environmental goals and development goals must be part of a complementary agenda” - Jinja, Uganda, 21 August 2007 Jun 04, 2025

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In Islamic belief, humans are entrusted with the responsibility to care for our worldly environment. In order to combat the threat of climate change, greater focus needs to be placed on finding renewable energy sources. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV addressed the relationship between environmental goals and development goals in this speech at the foundation ceremony of the Bujagali hydropower project in Jinja, Uganda on 21 August 2007.

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“An investment made in the earliest preschool years” - Mombasa, Kenya, 14 August 2007 May 28, 2025

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The Madrasa Early Childhood Programme is a partnership between the Aga Khan Foundation and local Muslim organisations, through which over 200 preschools have been established in communities in East Africa. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV discussed the importance of early childhood development, a period in which the human brain develops most quickly, in this speech at the 25th anniversary of the Madrasa programme, made in Mombasa, Kenya on 14 August 2007.
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“International development and its relationship to education” - University of Alberta, 9 June 2009 May 21, 2025

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In previous episodes, we have heard His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV speak about the role of education in strengthening developing societies. He had also discussed the important role that universities and other educational institutions can play in areas relevant to the field of international development, such as government, civil society, ethical literacy, and pluralism. He addressed these issues in this speech at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada on 9 June 2009.
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“Discovery of knowledge as a spiritual responsibility” - Dhaka, Bangladesh, 20 May 2008 May 14, 2025

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High quality education is a critical way to promote the long-term development of societies by nurturing the growth of future leaders. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV spoke about the vision of the Aga Khan Academies in this speech at the foundation ceremony of the Aga Khan Academy in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 20 May 2008.
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“Each generation must leave for its successors a wholesome and sustainable social and physical environment” - Washington, D.C., USA, 26 January 2005 May 07, 2025

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The Muslim world has rich and diverse architectural traditions stretching back centuries. However, in the modern age, these traditions were being lost and were in need of being revitalised. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was awarded the National Building Museum’s Vincent Scully Prize in 2005 and participated in a seminar where he made this speech on 26 January 2005 in Washington, DC.
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“Progress of democracy in our world is fundamentally linked to improving the quality of human life” - Athens, Greece, 15 September 2015 Apr 30, 2025

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For several decades, Western countries have promoted democratic governance in many parts of the world, including Muslim societies. However, many democracies have struggled in recent years. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV outlined his views on how to strengthen democracy in this speech at the International New York Times Athens Democracy Forum, held on 15 September 2015 in Athens, Greece.
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“Improving maternal, neonatal and child health should be one of the highest priorities” - Toronto, Canada, 29 May 2014 Apr 23, 2025

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Despite significant progress in maternal, newborn, and child health globally, many preventable maternal deaths still occur in developing countries, where many women are not attended to by a trained midwife, nurse or doctor during childbirth. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV addressed this topic and AKDN’s related initiatives in this speech at the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Summit held in Toronto, Canada on 29 May 2014.
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“A gift from the past that will keep on giving” - New Delhi, India, 21 February 2018 Apr 16, 2025

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The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has invested in cultural heritage projects in various countries, including revitalising Islamic monuments and gardens. This includes a series of interconnected heritage projects in New Delhi, India, which His Highness the Aga Khan discussed in this speech at the inauguration of the Sunder Nursery, held on 21 February 2018.
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“Diversification without disintegration, this is the greatest challenge of our time” - Providence, USA, 10 March 2014 Apr 09, 2025

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In our previous episode, we heard the His Highness the Aga Khan’s commencement speech at Brown University in 1996. Eighteen years later, he was invited to Brown University again to deliver the 88th Stephen Ogden Lecture on 10 March 2014. The Aga Khan reflected on the changes in the world over this period, often linked to individuals learning to live amongst increasing diversity.
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“A bridge across the gulf of knowledge which separates the Islamic world from the West” - Providence, USA, 26 May 1996 Apr 02, 2025

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The Soviet Union fell in 1991, ending a decades-long ideological conflict with the United States known as the Cold War. The years that followed saw considerable change around the world, including growing perceptions of a so-called Clash of Civilisations between the Muslim world and the West. His Highness the Aga Khan addressed this changing landscape and the gulf of knowledge between the West and the Islamic world in these excerpts of his commencement speech at Brown University on 26 May 1996.
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