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Music Education: An Integrated Approach

Education is at the core of all the Music Initiative's programmes and has served as the main focus of its investments to date.Education is at the core of all the Music Initiative's programmes and has served as the main focus of its investments to date.The Music Initiative’s mission of assuring the transmission of musical traditions that link Central Asians to their history and cultural heritage is integrally connected to the broader cultural revitalisation and educational mission of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and through the Trust, to the social and economic development mission of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Education is at the core of all the Music Initiative’s programmes and has served as the main focus of its investments to date. The Initiative’s development goals focus on pursuing its educational objectives through a network of collaborations with institutional partners both inside and outside the AKDN whose mission, resources and expertise complement its own. In forging these collaborations, the Music Initiative remains committed to the integrated approach to cultural development work that has made its programmes effective.

Through their participation in the closely linked activities shown in the preceding diagram, musicians in the Music Initiative network gain recognition and prestige in their home communities, secure their own economic well-being and provide viable models of a life in music for students. At the same time, Western audiences are exposed to some of the finest contemporary representatives of Central Asian musical arts.

His Highness the Aga Khan has stated that “development is sustainable only if the beneficiaries become, in a gradual manner, the masters of the process”. In the domain of music, development hinges on building respect for both old cultural knowledge and new. Creating a dynamic interchange between the two, stimulating curiosity and experimentation, nourishing visionary talent and encouraging transnational exchange - all of these invigorate the arts and confirm their vital place in the contemporary cultures of Central Asia.

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