Aga
Khan Visits Mozambique, Reviews AKDN Development Projects
in Cabo Delgado Province
On
23 November, His Highness the Aga Khan visited development
projects of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)
in remote areas of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado –
the poorest province in the country. Since 2001, AKDN
agencies have been working in the province on an integrated
development programme that includes the raising of agricultural
yields through assistance to farmers, microfinance,
early childhood development, school improvement and
health care initiatives. For
more information, including a slide show and a video,
please see the Mozambique
page.
Madagascar
Visit Highlights Successful Rice Production Programmes
During
his recent visit to Madagascar, His Highness the Aga
Khan discussed AKDN's expanding development activities
in the country. These activities have been underway
since 2005, when the Aga Khan Foundation launched an
integrated rural development project in the Sofia region
with the objective of increasing rice yields. The participative
rice farming programme offered training on alternative
rice cultivation practices. By 2006, yields in experimental
plots in the Sofia region more than doubled. Some farmers
recorded even higher yields. For more information about
the Aga Khan's visit to Madagascar and the Foundation's
rice production programme, please visit
the Madagascar page.
Aga
Khan Delivers Keynote Address at Berlin Conference on
"Central Asia and Europe: A New Economic Partnership
for the 21st Century"
His
Highness the Aga Khan delivered the keynote address
at “Central Asia and Europe: A New Economic Partnership
for the 21st Century”, a conference hosted by
the German Federal Foreign Office and the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The conference
was the first major international gathering to review
prospects for creating partnerships in the region. For
more information and speeches by His Highness the Aga
Khan and speech by German Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter
Steinmeier, please see the Berlin
page.
Cairo
Landmarks Restored by Aga Khan Trust for Culture
With
the completion of the restoration of the fourteenth
century Umm al Sultan Shabaan mosque and the Khayrebek
complex (which encompasses a 13th century palace, a
mosque and an Ottoman house), two major steps in the
revitalisation of Cairo’s Historic City were taken
in October 2007. But the two buildings are only part
of a much larger project which is changing the face
of Darb al-Ahmar, a neighborhood rich in cultural heritage
but poor in economic terms. The restoration projects
in the district are intended to use the revitalisation
of cultural assets as a catalyst to bring about positive
social and economic change. For
more information, including the text of His Highness
the Aga Khan's speech, please see the press
release.
BBC
Series on Aga Khan Award for Architecture Voted One
of the Best Documentaries of the Year
Building
for Islam, the BBC World series on the 2007 Aga
Khan Award recipients, was voted one of the top BBC
documentaries of 2007. The top six programmes were re-broadcast
in a special Best of the Year Documentary programme
on 29/30 December 2007 and 5/6 January 2008 on BBC World.
