ISMAILI TV

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Working across borders to save our common home

The temperature in the mountains of Central Asia is rising three times faster than the global average, causing a complex chain of negative effects for millions of people, and wildlife such as Himalayan brown bears.

The Ismaili is pleased to present Voices from the Roof of the World, a ten-episode TV series aiming to amplify the voices of those who bear the greatest burden of climate change.

Coinciding with the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the release of the series, beginning on The Ismaili TV on Wednesday 10 November, comes at an ideal time to learn more about the plight of populations on the front line in the fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

Everything that Allah has created has value — whether plants, animals, or human beings. Muslims believe that fulfilling the trust He has placed in us means caring for the planet, and being careful with how we treat the earth, its resources, and the rich diversity of living beings we find around us.

The Pamir mountains, the Himalayas, and the Karakorum, collectively known as the “Roof of the World,” is home to 240 million people, countless rare and endangered species, and the largest depository of ice outside the polar caps.

Young filmmakers from Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan travelled to the mountainous region to explore the implications of climate change, deforestation, pollution, and extreme weather events on communities in South and Central Asia.

“…These filmmakers have captured poignant personal stories of people and cultures threatened by both deluges and desiccation of their environment,” said Andrew Tkach, Executive Producer of the series.

The temperature is rising here three times faster than the global average, causing a rapid melting of glaciers, in turn resulting in floods and mudslides, and putting people's lives at risk. It is also negatively affecting the habitats of wildlife such as spotted snow leopards, Himalayan brown bears, and majestic markhors.

Yet, there is still hope to turn the situation around. World leaders have been gathering this week at the UN climate conference to make firm commitments to avoid more catastrophe.

“It is time to show that even in a world beset by intractable conflicts, it is possible to work across borders and social strata to save our common home.” continued Mr Tkach. “People living in some of the world’s most extreme conditions are fighting this battle every day, it is time we listen and learn from them.”

The series is a joint initiative of the Aga Khan University, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Aga Khan Foundation, and the University of Central Asia, and is being launched on TV and online. The collaboration serves as an example of institutions working together to address one of the most urgent challenges of our time.

Without global action to stop climate change, thousands of glaciers will disappear in the coming decades, affecting everyday lives on the Roof of the World and beyond. Now is the time to listen to their voices.

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The first episode of Voices from the Roof of the World will air on The Ismaili TV https://tv.ismaili/ at the following times:

Wednesday 10 November at 6AM, 1:30PM, 5PM, 8:30PM 11:30PM (Toronto) / 11AM, 6:30PM, 10PM (London) / 4PM, 11:30PM (Dushanbe)

Thursday 11 November at 6:30AM, 9:30AM (Dushanbe)

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Ismaili Center Houston design preview to air live on The Ismaili TV



Join us for an exclusive presentation from Houston, Texas, USA, on Monday 15 November 2021, featuring the design architect Farshid Moussavi and landscape architect Thomas Woltz, to preview the design of the upcoming Ismaili Center.

The Center will join several prestigious buildings commissioned over recent decades by institutions under the patronage of Mawlana Hazar Imam, designated under the broader category of Ismaili Centres, of which there are diverse examples in Dubai, Dushanbe, Lisbon, London, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Ismaili Centers have developed to respond to the Community's settlement and its expanding range of activity and engagement with civil society. They represent its aspirations, serve as its institutional, intellectual, and cultural hubs, and function as a place of contemplation and gathering.

In his Diamond Jubilee year, Mawlana Hazar Imam announced the establishment of The Ismaili Center during his visit to Houston. A year later, The Honourable Sylvester Turner, Mayor of the City, met with Hazar Imam and remarked, "The Ismaili Center will be a place where Houstonians of all backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life will find engaging, thoughtful, and compassionate programmes, and people. That will be in keeping with Ismaili values and the values of the Ismaili leader, the Aga Khan."

Incorporating spaces for social and cultural gatherings, intellectual engagement and reflection, and spiritual contemplation, the new Center will promote friendship and understanding among faith communities, government, and civil society. It will serve as a venue for Houstonians of all backgrounds, faiths and walks of life to participate in thoughtful programs and meaningful exchanges.

Tune in for the exclusive presentation on Monday 15 November on The Ismaili TV http://tv.ismaili/ . The event is expected to begin at 2:00 PM (Houston), 8:00 PM (London), and 11:00 PM (Nairobi). Preview coverage will begin 30 minutes prior. Additional timings are available on The Ismaili TV guide.

https://the.ismaili/global/news/institu ... ismaili-tv

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Salgirah programme to be screened on The Ismaili TV

As the global Jamat looks forward to celebrating the 85th birthday of our beloved Mawlana Hazar Imam, The Ismaili is pleased to present a weekend-long Salgirah programme on The Ismaili TV. Featuring a variety of content — from an inspiring short film production to a special children’s show — we hope to entertain and inspire the Jamat on this special and joyous occasion.

On the weekend of Salgirah this year, The Ismaili invites the Jamat to come together virtually to mark Mawlana Hazar Imam’s 85th birthday, united as One Jamat.

The programme will begin on Saturday 11 December with a programme for children entitled The Hero in Me. Join our youngest leaders as they come together virtually from around the world to celebrate their superpowers — inspired by the ethics of our faith — and explain how they plan to use these to make a positive difference in their communities.

Dr Shiraz Kabani will deliver a talk entitled Celebrating the life and work of Mawlana Hazar Imam, reflecting upon how the Imam-of-the-Time’s guidance over a number of decades has profoundly shaped the lives of the Jamat, and enhanced our quality of life, both material and spiritual.

A Musical Tribute entitled Beloved Flame will also be released on Saturday, featuring inspiring expressions of devotion by Ismaili artists from around the world. The collection of multi-lingual songs, carefully curated and arranged with spoken word elements, tells a story of what the Imam-of-the-Time means to us at every stage of our lives.

Finally, The Ismaili TV will present an original and exclusive short film entitled Courage for the Journey. This uplifting film will feature accomplished actors from the Jamat around the world, and tells the stories of different groups of people and their interpretations of the epic mystical poem The Conference of the Birds. Featuring moving recitations of Ismaili devotional literature and beautiful visual animations, this original production promises something special for all members of the Jamat to enjoy.

The weekend's festivities will also include films from the archives celebrating the achievements of our beloved Hazar Imam, along with new musical releases to commemorate this happy occasion.

While the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic continues to limit our in-person social interactions, we may still offer our shukrana and felicitations to Mawlana Hazar Imam for his many decades of leadership and guidance. The Ismaili welcomes you to relax and enjoy the Salgirah weekend as One Jamat, together at home.

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View the Salgirah programme schedule in your timezone on The Ismaili TV Guide https://tv.ismaili/ . Stay up to date by subscribing to our email newsletters https://the.ismaili/subscribe-email-updates and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

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Beloved Flame: A musical treat for the senses

Beloved Flame, a musical compilation especially produced in celebration of Salgirah this year, follows in a long tradition of artistic expression, and promises something special for the Jamat to enjoy.

To celebrate the 85th birthday of our beloved Mawlana Hazar Imam, The Ismaili is excited to present a special compilation of songs from The Ismaili Sounds collection into a musical tribute entitled Beloved Flame.

The production takes the form of a medley of multilingual songs, carefully curated and arranged with spoken word elements, to tell a story of what the Imam-of-the-Time means to us at every stage of our lives.

“Beloved Flame aims to express thanks for our Imam's constant presence and guiding light, while highlighting the diversity of cultures and artistic talent in our Jamat,” said executive producer Amina Dhrolia.

“The different musical and spoken word pieces are weaved together to create a narrative, which aims to uplift the Jamat at this difficult time,” continued Amina. “Each of the artist’s songs contain lyrics that touch the heart.”

Contributors to the show come from more than 15 countries around the world, and include a number of young artists and performers. “We tried to ensure that diversity is preserved in this piece through age, language, location, and culture,” said music producer Ayaz Merchant.

In addition to illustrating the Jamat’s unity in diversity, the songs selected for the programme express devotion, festivity, and hope for the future.

“The team of artists and producers used our experiences as parents and children to guide us in our approach for this piece to make it unique and deeply sincere.” said creative director Tina Ali Mohammed. “This was a true labour of love.”

Featuring an eclectic mix of styles and genres — from Persian and Pamiri folk music, to tabla-timed Urdu and Hindi songs, to Western Hip-Hop style tracks in English and French — the resulting production is an inspiring expression of devotion to the Imam by Ismaili artists worldwide.

With the assorted and diverse mix of sounds, the creative team were presented with the challenge of bringing together a wide range of styles, rhythms, languages, instrumentation, and arrangements. Seamlessly bridging the audio and video of the 18 featured songs took over a hundred hours of volunteer time, requiring meticulous attention to the visual and sonic details.

“This is more than a medley of songs,” concluded Amina. “Beloved Flame is a story of love and gratitude for our Imam. It’s a tribute and a gift from the artists to Hazar Imam on his birthday.”

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To watch Beloved Flame https://tv.ismaili/watch/salgirah-celeb ... cal-mosaic and other Salgirah programming, visit The Ismaili TV https://tv.ismaili/on-demand on demand.

https://the.ismaili/global/news/communi ... the-senses

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Join us on The Ismaili TV this weekend, *9 & 10 July*, to celebrate the milestone 65th Imamat Day of our beloved Mawlana Hazar Imam.

Sapphire Celebration, a specially produced Imamat Day programme, will include various musical items from world-renowned Ismaili musicians, a special message to Mawlana Hazar Imam from all the Ismaili Council Presidents on behalf of the global Jamat, as well as some exciting content for children.

_Check the Ismaili TV guide for your local time by visiting_ https://tv.ismaili

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Join us for an exclusive interview with Prince Amyn on Sunday, 10 July, only on The Ismaili TV.

In this interview, Prince Amyn will share stories from his childhood growing up with Mawlana Hazar Imam, and about their relationship with their grandfather, our beloved 48th Imam, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah. He will also speak about AKDN’s activities and some of Hazar Imam’s priorities over the past 65 years.

Local times are available on The Ismaili TV guide.

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Sunday 12 noon ET
Sunday 3 pm ET
Sunday 7 pm ET
Monday 1 am ET

Now available on : https://youtu.be/m9TJjNNJIUM

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Join us for an exclusive design presentation event from Houston, Texas, USA, on *Thursday, 11 August 2022*. The live event will feature reflections from Prince Amyn Aga Khan and The Honorable Sylvester Turner, Mayor of the City of Houston, on the upcoming Ismaili Center Houston design updates.

The event is expected to begin at 12:30 PM CST (Houston), 01:30 PM EST, 06:30 PM (London), and 08:30 PM (Nairobi) on The Ismaili TV at https://tv.ismaili

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In an interview with The Ismaili TV, Luis Monreal explains that AKTC is a unique organisation, with its span of disciplines taking in architecture, music, education, heritage and more.

In an exclusive interview for The Ismaili TV, Luis Monreal shares his perspective on culture’s potential to transform lives. This is the first in an exciting new series, entitled “In Conversation,” a collection of hosted interviews produced especially for The Ismaili TV. Our first guest is Luis Monreal, General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), who discusses the agency’s work, and Mawlana Hazar Imam’s aspirations for the role of arts and culture in our lives.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) conserves built heritage, supports musicians, encourages excellence in architecture, runs a museum and offers education across its disciplines. It offers awards in music and architecture, and in its turn has received 20 awards for its restoration of historic cities around the world. But what ties these fields together – and what does culture have to do with development?

“Culture is not a mortgage but an asset to be exploited for the benefit of communities,” Luis Monreal, the General Manager of AKTC, explains.

“Culture is the soul of our body. It is the software that makes us rational, that gives us an identity, that makes us have feelings. In development, culture is this essential ingredient that allows people to feel that they belong to a community, that allows people to understand that there are other communities that should be respected.”

Luis’s journey ranges from Egyptian archaeology to mediaeval art curation. He founded the Getty Conservation Institute and served on the Master Jury of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture before taking on his current role in 2001. His AKTC work incorporates both immaterial culture, such as music, and tangible aspects:

“The built environment [is] the most important framework for our lives. If we destroy this built environment, if we totally renovate it every generation, we will lose our identity. When we restore or rehabilitate historic cities, we are preserving assets that have an economic potential for current and future generations. In many cases, as his Highness has said, cultural heritage is the only viable asset that the community has.”

Luis considers AKTC to be unique, with its span of disciplines taking in architecture, music, education, heritage and more. “Agencies in AKDN are so diverse in the fields they operate in that they open more possibilities for co-funding from third parties.”

AKTC’s uniqueness also lies in the links it creates between cultural heritage and social and economic development.

“In 1970, the Award for Architecture organised a seminar in Cairo with a very distinguished specialist on architecture,” recalls Luis. “His Highness attended the seminar and he viewed, from the top of the Mamluk House, this barren land, Al-Darassa hill. He asked how much green land there was in Cairo, how many parks. And they said there are no parks here. And then he said, ‘I’ve been so impressed by the city, by this seminar here, that I would like to offer as a gift a park to the city of Cairo’.”

As construction of Al-Azhar Park began, the team found themselves in one of the poorest areas of town, and wanted to address the human needs on the other side of the Ayyubid and Fatimid walls that bordered the site. This is how the Historic Cities Programme’s combination of urban rehabilitation alongside green spaces started.

When investments in public space in cities such as Cairo, Kabul and Hyderabad are combined with microfinance and health programmes, the results are demonstrable. “We measure the impact, for example family income over time, how this has progressed in a certain area of the city where we work, how it compares with other parts of the city or other cities in the same country.

It is fundamental for people to understand that AKDN is a development agency that works for everybody, that obviously attempts to improve the lives of the Jamat, but doesn’t discriminate. It is very important, I think, that we work in countries like Egypt where there is not an Ismaili community. It is important that we restore Sunni mosques and not only Shia mosques, because it shows that we are working for everybody.

And this role of AKTC is particularly important in certain countries where the Jamat is very small. In Malaysia, I think the Jamat is several hundred people. Because of the involvement of AKTC in the old city of Georgetown in Penang, it has a profile which is higher and much more respected than before. Why is it important to have a museum in Toronto? Because I think since this museum has existed, the community in North America can be proud of having representation at the highest possible cultural and educational level.”

Where the Jamat is present, they also benefit from the employment and capacity building of these projects, such as the Forts being transformed into hotels in Northern Pakistan.

Luis notes that culture is an evolutionary process, with new generations inventing new languages and interests. “To plan the next ten years requires anticipating what could happen. And the avalanche of information through the media makes it more difficult to understand the trends that are significant. But what I think is obvious is that as a large segment of humanity is fulfilling its material needs, culture is becoming more important.”

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The full interview is now available to watch on The Ismaili TV on demand https://tv.ismaili/watch/akdn-in-conver ... is-monreal

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In an interview with The Ismaili TV, Farrokh Derakhshani reflects on the unique nature of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

In an exclusive interview for The Ismaili TV, Farrokh Derakhshani recalls the Award’s history and explains its contribution to the fields of architecture, urban planning, and design.

Forty years after Farrokh Derakhshani signed up for a five-month contract with AKDN, he is still here. For the past 16 years, he has served as the Director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. With the Award in its 45th year, he reflects on how it has changed attitudes to architecture.

“Everything can be created, but you have to have the right vision and know where you’re going,” he says. “His Highness the Aga Khan has always been looking beyond what he or others were supposed to do. He’s there for the future.”

“Architecture is one of the very few disciplines that touches all levels of society: it has an impact on your daily life,” adds Farrokh. “If quality of life is only going to be health, education, the monetary level, that is not enough. If you don't have the culture, it will not bind all these things together.”

For Farrokh, the most important projects are those, particularly in poor areas, where people of different ethnicities and faiths are brought together. This resonates with the importance Mawlana Hazar Imam places on pluralism. “Architecture means doing something for society,” Farrokh says. “That's the most important thing.”

He recalls the early days of the Award, which was established by Hazar Imam in 1977. “Let me put it in a historic perspective. Today young people think that you can immediately jump on something and have all the information about it at any moment. Forty-five years ago, that was not the case. Someone in Morocco had no idea what was happening in Indonesia. So one of the main roles of the Award was to tell people that someone else has found an intelligent solution that you can learn from.”

In the days of modernism, architecture was viewed in terms of buildings. The Award widened perceptions of the discipline. “We had projects like slum upgrading, engineering, water towers in Kuwait for example, restoration projects. Now you talk about the social aspects of architecture, how it has an impact on society. It was the Aga Khan Award for Architecture that was pointing those out.”

Meanwhile the accompanying series of seminars in countries such as Turkey, Morocco and China were preserved in publications. Along with the Award books, they were sent to schools of architecture around the world, offering a source of knowledge in a field that lacked information about architecture in a Muslim context.

Now in its 15th cycle, the Award remains unique. “First of all, we do not give an award to a person. No project is a product of one person. It's always the client, the builders, the architects, the engineers. Second, we do thorough research on projects and we're giving an award to a project which is completed and in use. We have to go and check it out.”

How can architecture meet the challenges of the future? “I’m not a fortune teller, but I believe in people’s capacity. I learned a lot of that from His Highness, because I could see that in different places, different situations, how he gave them space to come up with innovations, helping them to bring up the capacity which was hidden once, within them. That’s why I believe that in the future, a lot of problems that we think are the biggest problems today will be solved.”

For many years, Farrokh has observed with interest the development of the Ismaili community under the guidance of Mawlana Hazar Imam.

“He’s helped the Jamat to become educated, which has elevated all of them - millions in different parts of the world at the same time. He has encouraged them to become better by learning, by doing volunteer work, by giving time,” he says.

“I don’t think any other leader in the world has been able to leave such a legacy.”

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The full interview is now available to watch on The Ismaili TV on demand https://tv.ismaili/watch/akdn-in-conver ... erakhshani.

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Aga Khan Award for Architecture trophies lined up in preparation for the ceremony to begin.



Tune in for the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture and Aga Khan Music Awards being jointly hosted this weekend in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The prize-giving ceremonies and gala concerts, to be attended by members of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s family, will be streamed live on The Ismaili TV this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

The first-ever joint Awards event promises to be a unique occasion for all those interested in music or architecture. The 16 laureates of the Aga Khan Music Awards and the six winners of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture will be honoured over the course of three days at events being held in the Sultanate of Oman, on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Music Awards gala concert and prize-giving ceremony will take place over two evenings on Saturday and Sunday, while the Award for Architecture prize-giving ceremony will be held on Monday evening. Live coverage of all three events is scheduled to begin at 6:45 PM Gulf Standard Time.

Dating back to 1977 and cited as one of the most prestigious prizes in its field, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture. The Award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies across the world, in which Muslims have a significant presence.

The Aga Khan Music Awards was established in 2018 to recognise exceptional creativity, promise and enterprise in music performance, production, education, preservation and revitalisation in societies across the world. Laureates share a prize fund and collaborate with the Aga Khan Music Programme to expand the impact of their work and develop their careers.

Both initiatives are part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which has a wide range of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of the built environment and cultural heritage of Muslim societies. As the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, the Trust leverages culture as as a means of supporting and catalysing development.

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Join us at The Ismaili TV https://tv.ismaili/ for the events beginning this Saturday at 6:45 PM (Gulf Standard Time). Add the events to your calendar: Saturday | Sunday | Monday