A Merger of Cultures: How a historic structure from 12th- and 13th-century Europe came to Kansas City in the 20th century

by Elizabeth Razzi

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world’s Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, may have seemed an unusual choice to receive the 2011 J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development (“His Highness the Aga Khan, 2011 Laureate, ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development”). It was his work leading a vast development network that is improving the lives of impoverished people in more than 30 countries that attracted the attention of the Nichols jury. But a remarkable coincidence, discovered only on the day the prize was awarded in October, links the Aga Khan with J.C. Nichols, one of ULI’s founders. Shortly before the award presentation at ULI’s Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, Nichols’s grandson Wayne Nichols and his wife, Susan shared coffee with Luis Monreal, general manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, who accepted the prize on behalf of the Aga Khan. Monreal, a native of Seville, Spain, asked Nichols how Seville’s famous architectural landmark the Giralda (which happens to be a favorite of the Aga Khan) came to be etched in glass on the J.C. Nichols Prize itself.

More A Merger of Cultures – All related

January 2012: His Highness the Aga Khan receives Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa

All related blog posts from this event:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/category/awards/hon-doctorate-uottawa/

National Building Museum: (2005) Speech and Discussion with His Highness the Aga Khan

On Wednesday, January 26, 2005, the National Building Museum held a public program titled “Design in the Islamic World and Its Impact Beyond” as part of the fifth Vincent Scully Prize programming honoring His Highness the Aga Khan. Charles Correa, the internationally distinguished architect from Bombay, India and His Highness The Aga Khan participated in the program, and Robert Ivy, editor-in-chief of Architectural Record served as moderator.

Earlier related: Gala Honoring His Highness The Aga Khan: Fifth Vincent Scully Prize Recipient

Address to the National Building Museum’s Scully Seminar/Symposium
(Washington D.C., USA)

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/7179/

National Building Museum Panel Discussion on ‘Design in the Islamic World
and Its Impact Beyond’ at the Scully Seminar/Symposium (Washington D.C.,
USA)

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/9765/

Acceptance Address – National Building Museum’s Vincent Scully Prize
(Washington D.C., USA)

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/7173/

The five honorary Canadians: Raoul Wallenberg, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, The Aga Khan have been honored

Canada occasionally bestows an honorary Canadian citizenship on foreigners of exceptional merit. It is a symbolic honour and does not give the recipients any rights, privileges or duties typically held by Canadian citizens. Canada has granted the honour to five people.

The Aga Khan

The Aga Khan, leader of 15 million Ismail Muslims worldwide, became an honorary Canadian citizen in 2009. He has been the imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims since 1957, when he succeeded his grandfather. The Aga Khan is involved in humanitarian and development projects in Asia and Africa. A billionaire and a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, the Aga Khan lives in France. The honour follows the work of the Aga Khan Development Network with Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.

via The five honorary Canadians – Canada – CBC News.

Photographs: His Highness the Aga Khan at the Urban Land Institute’s Annual Conference Leadership Dinner

http://www.akdn.org/photos_show.asp?Sid=192

Looking to the Aga Khan’s words …

Alexander Otto: Balancing Social, Environmental, and Financial Concerns.

It is without a doubt that sustainability has moved up the business agenda in the last 12 months.

Despite the unremittingly gloomy economic landscape, the question of how today’s leaders balance social and environmental concerns with financial ones—what is known as “impact investing”—was a key debate at Davos this year, and it took center stage during His Highness the Aga Khan’s speech at the ULI Europe leadership dinner in Paris in February.

Sustainability and the property industry have not always been easy companions. The Aga Khan’s speech reflected on real estate’s notable absence from the field of impact investing to date—an industry that is estimated to be worth $1 trillion over the next decade. But as a long-term game by nature, sustainability was a business issue that has historically found it tough to compete; during the mid-2000s it lost out to strategies that reaped quicker, more tangible rewards for the bottom line, and during the early days of the downturn it faced a different kind of competition as investors focused cash on priority areas.

via Alexander Otto: Balancing Social, Environmental, and Financial Concerns.

Liberal Senate Forum | Statements & Hansard | His Royal Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan—Congratulations on Honorary Degree

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer:

Honourable senators, on Friday, January 13, His Royal Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa for his service to humanity.

For over 50 years, His Royal Highness the Aga Khan has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life of people living in the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of the world, particularly Africa, Central and South Asia and the Middle East. Allan Rock, President of the University of Ottawa, said the following about the Aga Khan’s accomplishments:

His Highness speaks directly to the goodness in all people. By his words and actions, he has demonstrated that there are no divisions among us if our desire truly is to create a better world.

Honourable senators, when speaking to the people assembled at the graduation ceremony, His Highness shared several important messages, some of which pertain directly to the work that we do in this institution.

More: Liberal Senate Forum | Statements & Hansard | His Royal Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan—Congratulations on Honorary Degree.

Speech: Aga Khan Speaks at Urban Land Institute’s Annual Conference Leadership Dinner

Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Urban Land Institute’s Annual Conference Leadership Dinner (Paris, France)

31 January 2012

Thank you, Mr Rummell for your very generous and warm words.

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a distinct pleasure for me to be here this evening – and I would like to begin by expressing my renewed and deep thanks to the Urban Land Institute for presenting to me the J.C. Nichols prize at your 75th anniversary conference last Fall. I was particularly honoured to learn that this was one of the first times a non-American had been given this award, a reflection of the increasingly global nature of your concerns. And your meetings in Paris this week further demonstrate the Institute’s international character.

I was also happy to know that – as a direct outgrowth of this award – our two organizations will be joining in a new program to advance urban planning in the Muslim world – where so much change is occurring, and so quickly.

More Speech: Aga Khan Speaks at Urban Land Institute’s Annual Conference Leadership Dinner.

ULI – His Highness the Aga Khan at Urban Land Institute Europe Conference: Base Investment Decisions on a Mix of Financial, Social, Economic and Environmental Goals

PARIS (2 February 2012) — His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and leader of the nondenominational Aga Khan Development Network, urged Urban Land Institute (ULI) Europe leaders at the Institute’s real estate conference in Paris this week to consider the social and environmental impacts of investment decisions.

The Aga Khan, the 2011 recipient of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, discussed the value of impact investing during a keynote presentation at a ULI Europe leadership dinner. The industry would benefit from “a great deal” of upside potential if it made investment decisions that pursued a balanced mixed of financial, social, economic and environment goals, said His Highness, who is an unparalleled global leader in development, cultural preservation, and philanthropy.

via ULI – His Highness the Aga Khan at Urban Land Institute Europe Conference: Base Investment Decisions on a Mix of Financial, Social, Economic and Environmental Goals.

The Ismaili: Mawlana Hazar Imam underscores the value of land planning in sustainable development during an address to the Urban Land Institute in Paris

Paris, 31 January 2012 — On the heels of being awarded the J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, Mawlana Hazar Imam addressed a leadership dinner at the Urban Land Institute Europe Annual Conference held in Paris.

“The Aga Khan Development Network attaches central importance to the role — in the world in which we work — of property impact investment,” said Mawlana Hazar Imam. “Whether one is developing a university, a hospital, a school, a park, an historical site, a commercial enterprise, a municipal facility, or a regional network of institutions, land planning, building development and financing are fundamental variables.”

via The Ismaili: Mawlana Hazar Imam underscores the value of land planning in sustainable development during an address to the Urban Land Institute in Paris.

New on NanoWisdoms: His Highness the Aga Khan’s Address to the Urban Land Institute Annual Conference Leadership Dinner (Paris, France)

In his speech to the Urban Land Institute’s Annual Conference Leadership Dinner, Tuesday night in Paris, His Highness the Aga Khan — who was awarded the 2011 ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development — discussed “impact investing”. He noted that although it is “expected to reach around 500 billion US dollars in the next ten years … there has been relatively little history as yet of impact investing in the property development field,” and, in particular, that “the power of impact investing is only beginning to be seen in the less developed parts of the world.”

The Aga Khan also observed that while we “have witnessed in recent decades the rapid, exciting development of newly industrialised countries, especially along the Pacific rim … there are many places in the less developed world that now hold similar promise.”

Click to read the full speech at NanoWisdoms:
Address to the Urban Land Institute Annual Conference Leadership Dinner (Paris, France)

All related Ismailimail

His Highness the Aga Khan Urges “Impact Investing” at ULI Europe Conference

PARIS — His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, urged guests at the ULI Europe Annual Conference in Paris to consider the social and environmental impacts of investment decisions.

His Highness the Aga Khan, who recently was awarded the 2011 ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, said the industry would benefit from “a great deal” of upside potential if it made investment decisions that pursued a balanced mixed of financial, social, economic and environment goals.

More at the source: urbanland.uli.org/Articles/2012/Feb/ScottAgaKhanEU.

Earlier related: His Highness the Aga Khan to Speak at Urban Land Institute’s 2012 Europe Annual Conference

His Highness the Aga Khan to Speak at Urban Land Institute’s 2012 Europe Annual Conference

His Highness the Aga Khan to Speak at 2012 Europe Annual Conference: bit.ly/uw4LXk—
Urban Land Institute (@UrbanLandInst) January 26, 2012

http://uli-europe.org/paris12

Related:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/category/awards/j-c-nichols-prize/

His Highness the Aga Khan: The dangers of decentralization | The Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/the-dangers-of-decentralization/article2316389/


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/

Gems from the Aga Khan’s speech and Nature Essays

Simerg’s new post has links to two literary pieces by Mohezin Tejani entitled “New Hampshire Twilight” and “Iguazu,” a South American natural wonder of the world, as well as “Gems” from His Highness the Aga Khan’s speech compiled by Malik Mirza. Please click “Iguazu” and “New Hampshire Twilight” by Mohezin Tejani and “Gems” from His Highness the Aga Khan’s Speech by Malik Mirza.

By clicking on the Home page you will have access to the afore-mentioned as well as recent posts on Honorary Degrees Conferred on His Highness the Aga Khan, A 75th birthday tribute to His Highness and the London Didar in Olympia in 1979.

Asian Newspapers: Aga Khan awarded honorary doctorate in Ottawa

Aga Khan awarded honorary doctorate in Ottawa – The Indo-Canadian Voice

Aga Khan, forty-ninth hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, was last week awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa for his service to humanity.

Aga Khan awarded doctorate – Asian Pacific Post

His Highness The Aga Khan was awarded an honourary doctorate by the University of Ottawa. This recent accomplishment adds to his honorary Companion of the Order of Canada and granted honorary Canadian citizenship – just the fifth person, and first Muslim with such an

Aga Khan awarded honorary doctorate in Ottawa – South Asian Focus

His Highness the Aga Khan was last week awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa for his service to humanity. The degree was conferred at a special convocation presided over by Chancellor Huguette Labelle and University President Allan Rock.

Gallery: Mawlana Hazar Imam and Prince Amyn visit Wynford Drive construction site

Mawlana Hazar Imam and the Oversight Committee consider the carpet selection for the Jamatkhana. Photo: Imara Wynford Drive Ltd / TheIsmaili.org / Moez Visram

Source:
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1320/Gallery-Mawlana-Hazar-Imam-and-Prince-Amyn-visit-Wynford-Drive-construction-site

Related article by Nelish Lalany: Garden in the city will draw from the past to connect communities today and tomorrow
Related: Wynford Drive construction progress — January 2012

All related Ismailimail:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/category/institutions-of-ismaili-imamat/trust-for-culture/aga-khan-museum-toronto/

The Aga Khan: Nurturing the delicate seeds of democracy

Calgary Herald Editor’s note: The Aga Khan recently received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Ottawa. This is an edited version of the speech he delivered at the ceremony.

There are many topics of mutual interest that I could talk about today. But I have picked just one. In my eyes it is important, and I understand that it is also high among your priorities. I refer to the field of governance and public policy, specifically to the difficulty of establishing workable constitutional systems, especially in countries with less experience in democratic governance.

via
http://www.calgaryherald.com
.
Earlier related: The Aga Khan: Emerging democracies will require the intellectual support of nations like Canada | The Province

Video: His Highness the Aga Khan receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Canada, 13/01/2012 – His Highness the Aga Khan was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa for his service to humanity. The degree was conferred at a special convocation presided over by Chancellor Huguette Labelle, as well as University President Allan Rock.

http://www.akdn.org/videos_detail.asp?VideoId=140


http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1318/

Visit to Wynford Drive – January 15, 2012

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobby17/sets/72157628879999523/with/6701300245/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobby17/sets/72157628886410187/with/6704035951/