Volunteers In Action

For the past six years, the Aga Khan University-Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) has been breaking new ground in digital methods to study the written heritage of the Islamic tradition. At present, the University runs projects funded by the European Research Council and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that involve building a collection of Arabic texts – now more than 2 billion words – and studying the relationships between books.

The English Language Enhancement Programme (ELEP) is an 8-level English Language Diploma Programme adopted from the Pakistan American Cultural Centre (PACC) to provide English Language teaching to the Jamat. Lead educators are trained and certified by the PACC who, in turn, train other educators regarding the various pedagogies and didactic ways of instilling English fluency skills within the Jamat. These primarily focus on reading, writing, speaking and listening. 38 TKN volunteers, from all over Pakistan, serve as lead educators and educators and they undergo over 50 hours of training before they start teaching a class.

When the Covid-19 global pandemic hit, the whole world stopped. While many experienced difficulties establishing a “new normal” for themselves, others struggled with remembering to click the “unmute” button before speaking during Zoom meetings. Ismailis from all corners of the globe have stepped up to navigate the most challenging of situations in order to better the lives of others. Enter CONNECT, the first ever virtual camp for Ismaili Muslim Youth from across the globe.

The path towards initiating and sustaining one's own business can be a daunting mountain to climb, and often many individuals, even those who possess good business ideas, refrain from treading this path. To harness the spirit of entrepreneurship and promote business ownership within the community, the ‘Business Opportunity Programme’ (BOP) initiative has been launched by the Aga Khan Economic Planning Board (AKEPB) in Pakistan.

FMIC Kabul, Afghanistan: Hafiza Ukani and Shireen Alwani (both Alumnae of Aga Khan University) travelled to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2016 for a TKN assignment with the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC). FMIC operates through an innovative four-way partnership between the Government of Afghanistan, the Government of France, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and the French NGO, La Chaîne de l’Espoir. The Aga Khan University manages FMIC on behalf of AKDN.