Youth Engagement
In response to the global Covid-19 pandemic, many educational institutions have transitioned from in-person to online learning. For students who are used to classroom settings, a different learning setting can pose new challenges, especially when trying to remain productive and motivated. Here are some strategies to adapt to an online learning environment.
From organising skills enhancement camps to leading school fundraising teams, Ismaili youth from around the world have taken on leadership roles in the movement to alleviate poverty, through economic empowerment and other measures.
In December 2019, Global Encounters (GE) Expedition brought together young Ismailis from 13 countries to the rural areas of Southern Saurashtra in Gujarat to engage with the local Jamat and study the work of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The impact of Expedition on its participants is well known, but the impact that Expedition has on the Jamat in Southern Saurashtra is equally profound.
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) set forth by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 are envisioned to make the world a better place by 2030. In order to better understand the goals and their potential, the Ismaili Girl Guides in Pakistan attended a four-day summit at the Guides’ Association headquarters in Islamabad.
“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination,” said Mae Jemison, an American engineer, physician, and the first African American woman to travel into space. She orbited the earth in 1992, making history as the first female person of color to journey into space about 30 years after the first man, Yuri Gagarin.
In an effort to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through access to and participation in science, the United Nations recognises 11 February as International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Young girls from the Dubai Jamat have displayed that women and girls can thrive in the field of science by winning an award for their innovative solution at the FIRST Lego League (FLL) competition.
It’s a cool and damp morning at a school in South Kanarchor, on the outskirts of Dhaka. As the children break for recess, they’re greeted by the sight of six young visitors, approaching the school by boat. The children clamour around the bamboo railings excitedly. Nestled in the heart of South Kanarchor is the Arcadia Education Project, one of the winners of the 2019 cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA). Built on land that floods regularly, the amphibious structure is an innovative solution that responds to climate, context, and community. And that’s exactly what the visitors were there to learn about.
The Ismaili Centre, Dubai held its first two-day Hackathon recently, which introduced 35 young individuals to real-world technological problems and challenged them to identify sustainable global solutions.
His Excellency President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo on 13 January, while in Mozambique for the inauguration of its new President. He was accompanied by Ms Teresa Ribeiro, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Portuguese Government, and Ms Maria Amélia de Paiva, Portugal’s Ambassador to Mozambique.
His Excellency President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo on 13 January, while in Mozambique for the inauguration of its new President. He was accompanied by Ms Teresa Ribeiro, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Portuguese Government, and Ms Maria Amélia de Paiva, Portugal’s Ambassador to Mozambique.
Last month, young members of the Jamat in Pakistan had the opportunity to tour interior Sindh and Karachi on a journey to reflect on and understand the importance of cultural heritage. The trip was organised as part of the Heritage Discovery Tour (HDT), a flagship programme of the Arts and Culture portfolio of the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board for Pakistan.
I’m surrounded by young people from all over Europe. Everyone looks, dresses and behaves differently. Actually we can hardly understand each other and have to use gestures to communicate. At home we eat different foods and have different customs, but here we are brothers and sisters in faith: This is European Youth Camp, and we are One Jamat.