Aga Khan Development Network E-mail Bulletin for May 2006

Quote from His Highness the Aga Khan

"We are all convinced that Afghanistan, today and for a number of years to come, has a great need for men and women qualified in the medical and para-medical domain... As a result, it is clear that we must envisage training for nurses and doctors within this Institute... We therefore are highly desirous that this hospital develops into a high level university hospital tertiary care centre which will offer new specialisations – essential for Afghanistan – such as neuroscience, cardiology, oncology and many other fields of medicine that best meet the needs of the country."

--His Highness the Aga Khan, 8 April 2006, Kabul, Afghanistan

One child in four does not reach the age of five in Afghanistan. Every 30 minutes, a woman dies from pregnancy-related causes. The average life expectancy of 42 years is one of the lowest in the world. To help address these urgent health issues, the AKDN has taken on the management of the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC), an international-class, paediatric hospital founded by the French charitable organisations La Chaîne de l’Espoir and Enfants Afghans. President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, French First Lady Mme. Bernadette Chirac and His Highness the Aga Khan inaugurated the hospital on 8 April 2006. For more information, please see the press release and A3 briefs on the French Medical Institute for Children and an overview of AKDN's integrated development efforts in the country.

At the January Conference on Afghanistan in London, His Highness the Aga Khan called on the international community to work with the Government of Afghanistan to take concrete steps to enhance the potential for private initiative. He proposed a conference on an "enabling environment" for the country within a year. For more information, please see the press release.

Central Asian Music on Tour in Europe; Launch of CD Series on Smithsonian Folkways

After a successful March tour of the United States, the Kyrgyz ensemble Tengir-Too will be travelling to Europe, where they will kick off a tour of the United Kingdom on the 28th of May. The concerts also celebrate the European release of the first three volumes of a ten-part Smithsonian Folkways CD and DVD anthology of Central Asian music. The CDs have received glowing reviews from a number of media, including the New York Times and Washington Post. Volume 3, devoted to Afghan rubab virtuoso Homayun Sakhi, will be featured in the June issue of Songlines, a leading world music magazine, as an Editor's Top of the World selection.

Tengir-Too will be performing in the United Kingdom on the following dates:

28 May 2006 – The Brook Theatre – CHATHAM
1 June 2006 – The Stable Theatre – MILTON KEYNES
2 June 2006 – South Hill Park Arts Centre – BERKSHIRE
3 June 2006 – Roots Around the World – NORTH MUNDHAM
4 June 2006 – South Street Arts Centre – BERKSHIRE
7 June 2006 – Aldershot, West End Centre – HAMPSHIRE
8 June 2006 – Gulbenkian Theatre – KENT
9 June 2006 – Theatre Mwldan – CARDIGAN

10 June 2006 – National Museum – CARDIFF

His Highness the Aga Khan welcomed HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to Al-Azhar Park on the 20th of March 2006. For photos of the visit, please see the photo galleries for 20 March 2006 and 19 March 2006.

More Awards for AKDN

Following on the Alcan Award, which AKPBS Pakistan received for its water and sanitation programme, AKPBS in India has helped the Gujarat village of Karan win a "Clean Village" Award. Meanwhile, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has received a 2006 PATA GOLD Award for Heritage and Culture for its work on the Shigar Fort Restoration. The Trust also received the Royal Toledo Foundation (Real Fundación de Toledo) for work in the preservation and revitalisation of historic cities in the Islamic world. His Majesty Juan Carlos I, Patron of the Foundation, made the formal presentation of the Award to His Highness the Aga Khan. For more information, please see the Toledo press release. For more information and links about these and other awards, please see the AKDN Awards page.

The Career Centre is an on-line service which allows people interested in working for the Aga Khan Development Network to browse through job descriptions of current vacancies. The Centre currently features 27 jobs. The service also allows users to submit resumes and create and update a personal profile within an active database. Even if the current opportunities do not correspond to an applicant's field of expertise, a Job Alert Service sends email alerts when new positions are posted. For more information about current opportunities, please see http://www.akdn.org/careers.

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