Forodhani Park Zanzibar
Speech by Prince Amyn Aga Khan on the occasion of the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Revitalisation of Forodhani Park (Zanzibar)
18 January 2008
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, friends.
I should like to start by expressing the thanks of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), as well as my own, to Her Excellency the first Lady of Zanzibar, Mama Shadya Karume, for doing us the honour of attending this ceremony. I should also like to welcome the Deputy Chief Minister and to express sincere thanks to the Minister of Water, Construction, Energy and Lands who have so kindly and so ably organised this event.
The project we are gathered together to launch today, the restoration and upgrading of Forodhani Park, should be seen within the framework of the Agreement of Cooperation signed back in 2002 between the Government of Zanzibar and the AKDN. As you know, AKDN has been actively involved - for now over a quarter of a century - in Zanzibar's economic and social development, through the Aga Khan Foundation's activities in the Raha Leo community health programme and the Madrassah pre-school programme, to promote early childhood development and the Teacher Resource Centres, through the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development's creation of the Zanzibar Serena Inn, and through the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC)'s restoration and redevelopment of what was known as the Old Dispensary when I was a young man, is now called the Stone Town Cultural Centre, and may, hopefully, soon become the Indian Ocean Maritime Museum.
Restoring Forodhani Park is part of AKTC's long-term objective to revitalise the historic seafront of Stone Town as a major contribution to the social, cultural and economic development of this island. It is our hope that AKTC will bring its technical expertise and managerial assistance to the Government of Zanzibar, in a public private partnership, to ensure both an urban and an environmental regeneration of this central, this core area of the seafront of Stone Town. And let us not forget that Stone Town is a World Heritage Site, with an urban fabric and a townscape that have remained largely intact through the centuries, boasting several fine, indeed unique buildings. AKDN views this area of Stone Town's seafront as a continuum, from Kelele Square to the present ports area, and Forodhani Park is the hub and the heart of this seafront continuum. Let us also remember that in Stone Town have come together, over the past hundred years, the cultures of Africa, the Arab Peninsula, India and Europe to create this unique Swahili aesthetic. Stone Town is surely a symbol of how variety and diversity can breed creativity and originality.
Forodhani Park Zanzibar
Forodhani Park Zanzibar
Last edited by Admin on Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:22 am, edited 1 time in total.