Building for the Future
World visionaries and change seekers came together for this year’s Paris Peace Forum to address the many crises currently facing humanity, such as climate change, health emergencies, food security, and violent conflicts.
Working lives are changing more rapidly than perhaps ever before. Careers of the Future is a new original series airing exclusively on The Ismaili TV, where students and young professionals can hear directly from members of the Jamat at the leading edge of their fields about how to most effectively prepare for the future of work.
As India rapidly urbanizes, pockets of rural Gujarat continue to remain home to smaller communities of the Jamat. Anchored to their land and with strong ties to their community, they often live in areas that are seismically active. Since 2012, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s Rural Habitat Development Programme, has focused on working with these communities to improve the resilience and safety of their built environment. In transforming their living spaces from houses to homes, the programme has helped improve residents’ quality of life.
The current healthcare crisis is accelerating the pace of change, and new innovations that were expected to take a decade to develop are now being tested and marketed at a dizzying rate, which has consequences for almost all organisations and employees.
Ismaili youth and young professionals have come together for the IDE8 open innovation challenge to find solutions to the world's most significant challenges. Through this process, they will learn skills that will help them prepare for a dynamic future, as well as assist those around them in need of support.
Mawlana Hazar Imam has frequently commented on the value of sharing our time and knowledge with Jamats around the world and with the communities in which they live. Canadian Ismaili health professionals have taken that message to heart, having a long history of partnering with the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) to improve the quality of life of people around the world.
Since its launch in 2016, over 200 students have participated in the Reach for the Stars Mentorship Programme in India. Through mentorship, immersion visits, and conversations with industry stalwarts, the technology track of the programme has steered students from diverse backgrounds towards niche careers, high-impact professional pathways, and stellar academic programmes.
On the occasion of International Women's Day, we celebrate the work of the Ismailia Helping Society (IHS) in India. Established in 1936, under the guidance of Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, IHS was established to promote the economic advancement of women in the Jamat. Over 80 years later, IHS continues to empower women who leverage their traditional skills in art, crafts, and beadwork to create lifestyle products.
For nearly two decades, the United Bakers Co-operative Society Limited has been aggregating the interests and aspirations of local Jamati bakeries in Hyderabad. From centralised procurement to training and development, the alliance’s story illustrates that bonds of trust and collaboration can catalyse economic development. We take a look at the recipe behind their sweet story of success.
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 World Economic Forum predicts that millions of jobs will be lost in the coming years as artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, and other socio-economic factors replace the need for human workers. How can we begin to prepare for a future that will no doubt be more mobile, autonomous, and machine-driven than today?
Often, we think of balance as a scale: having equal weights on either side. In reality, balance may not be what it seems. Instead, it can be thought of as a pendulum. It’s about finding what’s right for you. There isn’t a one size fits all, especially when it comes to wealth.