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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.