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Aga Khan - Timeline - 1997 - Ismailis
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The Heritage Timeline 1997

February 18, 1997: Hazar Imam sent a message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan upon his victory at the elections.

March 10, 1 997: Nation Printers and Publishers, issued a press release announcing that the leading media establishment in East and Central Africa, will be inaugurating its new state-of-the-art printing plant on Wednesday - The inauguration will be presided over by His Excellency President Daniel Arap Moi in the presence of H.H. The Aga Khan who, in his personal capacity, is the principal shareholder of the Nation Group.

March 10, 1997: Begining of an East Africa Tour - Kampala, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar...

March 10, 1997: Held talks with President Museveni in Kampala where He was accompanied by Prince Amyn Mohamed. The Nation newspaper reported the information

March 11, 1997: Aga Khan Happy with projects, reported Alfred Wasiker

March 11, 1997: Aga Khan to fund MUK research centre reported the Monitor. It further reported that Prince Amyn Aga Khan revealed that over 100,000 students have passed through Aga Khan academic institutions in East Africa.

March 11, 1997: During the luncheon attended by Cabinet Ministers and hosted by President Moi at the State House, Nairobi President Moi thanked the Aga Khan for the Sh4.4 billion investment commitment. He said the Network had promoted economic development initiatives in industry, finance and tourism. The same day, in His speech to the staff of The Nation Newspaper, His Highness said "To me it seems very important that Africans should communicate about Africa to the world in their own language, their own environment and on their own terms.

March 12, 1997: In its editorial, the Daily Nation said "It is a commitment to excellence that has seen the group grow from that day in 1959 when His Highness the Aga Khan bought a Kiswahili weekly called Taifa which became a Swahili daily, Taifa Leo, and which spawned the English-language Sunday Nation and Daily Nation in 1960." The news was also reported by Reuters

March 12, 1997: His Highness the Aga Khan yesterday challenged the African continent to manage and control its own flow of information.

March 12, 1997: The Aga Khan stated in His speech. that: "Some say that the developing world in general and Africa in particular, may be left behind by this revolution in communications technology. But I would argue just the reverse. It seems to me that societies which have invested less in old technologies have the potential to propel themselves even more quickly into new technologies"

March 13, 1997: Moi, Aga Khan challenge Press - `Nation' press inaugurated.

March 13, 1997: A touch of elegance at lauch . President Moi said in his speech: The media are not just an important partner in national development, they are an agent to influence thought and social change.

March 13, 1997: His Highness the Aga Khan left for Tanzania after a four-day official visit to Kenya.

March 13, 1997: "His Highness himself is a rare individual. His insight, compassion, benevolence, and personal charm are matched by his perceptiveness, inscrutability, discipline, and accountability to society. His love for his people is legendary, and all who know him respect and adore him." writes the Tanzania paper - Express under its Editorial titled "Karibu Your Highness".

March 13, 1997: His Highness the Aga Khan arrives in Tanzania on March 13 for a three-day visit. At the end of his Dar-es-Salaam visit, His Highness is expected to inaugurate the recently built Serena Inn in Zanzibar on March 15.

March 15, 1997: The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Moslems, opened a $7 million hotel on the island of Zanzibar. Reuters also reported that The Aga Khan, concluding an East African tour which has already taken him to Uganda, Kenya and mainland Tanzania, also visited historic buildings in Zanzibar's Stone Town which are being renovated by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Mai 10, 1997"The Aga Khan's Serena hotel chain has just converted an old Arab house and a turn of the century British telecommunications building into Zanzibar towns first five-star luxury hotel. The sea wall surrounding the hotel which overlooks the azure waters of the Indian Ocean was originally built by Omani sultans and has also been carefully restored." wrote Hadani Ditmars in the Globe & Mail of Toronto (Canada) in Mai of the same year.

East Africa Gallery: This is the place where you can find all of the others press clippings, many speeches of the visits (by H.H. The Aga Khan, Prince Amyn, President Moi etc... And not to mention almost 50 beautiful photographs of the visit. One of the best Gallery we ever had!

March 19, 1997: In Cairo, The Aga Khan and Prince Amyn briefed the Prime Minister and the Governor on further developments on the proposed Al Azhar Park, a US$15 million project being sponsored by the Historic cities support Programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). The project is being undertaken following the signing of a Protocol between the Governorate of Cairo and AKTC in December 1990.

April 26, 1997: Mowlana Hazar Imam sent a Message to the Jamats worldwide to inform them of the demise of His beloved Mother Princess Tajudaulah.

April 28, 1997: "Without once stepping on her son's toes, Princess Joan helped smooth his path with the media, accompanied him to Buckingham Palace where the Queen passed on the title of "His Highness" originally bestowed on his grandfather by Queen Victoria" said the obituary in the Times.

April 28, 1997: The Heritage Society remembers Princess Tajudaullah, "In Memoriam " - Beloved mother of our Imam and of Prince Amyn..

May 9, 1997: Princess Zahra visited Toronto, Canada for three days to Chair the International Ismaili Women's Forum under the auspices of the International Social Development and Sports Foundation. The conference took place from May 9 to May 11, 1997 at a resort in King City, just north of Toronto called Eaton Hall. On the opening day, Princess Zahra spoke on the role of women and on the need for enhancing the status of women in society with particular emphasis on Ismaili women. Approximately 100 delegates from all over the world attended this Forum. Princess Zahra wore a green business suit. Mowlana Hazar Imam instructed me to give special priority to the subjects concerning women" said Princess Zahra in her "Opening Remarks for the International Ismaili Women's Forum".

May 28, 1997: "The current Aga Khan , 60 years old, who will in July mark his 40th year as spiritual head of the Ismaili Muslims, said in an interview at his office here that the last four years have seen a dramatic increase in development needs for Ismailis in a growing number of places that previously were cut off from the West, especially in the former Soviet Central Asian republics of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan." reported the Europe edition of the Wall Street Journal dated May 28.

June 7 and 8, 1997: Prince Hussain Aga Khan graduates in French and Theatre from Williams. The Graduation ceremony is attended by the whole family: The Aga Khan, Prince Rahim, Princess Zahra, Princess Salimah, Princess Yasmin...

June 21, 1997: After the pre-wedding Bal in London on June 12th, here is the "D" Day. Today Princess Zahra Aga Khan and Mark Boyden are getting married at Aiglemont. The wedding Bal is held at the Chateau de Chantilly. Point de Vue and Paris Match gave a lively description of the wedding with exceptional photos. An official press realease was sent out by Aiglemont. The Spanish magazine Hola! presented stuning images of the wedding. So did Semana, another Spanish magazine. Hello magazine dated July 5th wrote "Zahra is said to take after her father but, whatever the similarities, a taste for jet-settting isn't among them. This makes her well-suited to her country-loving new husband. She's also extremely serious about her work and intends to take up where she left off after the pair return from their honeymoon in South America."

10 July, 1997: Attended with Prince Charles a Gala Dinner at the Royal Alber Hall organised by the Asia House to celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Indian and Pakistani independence.

11 July, 1997: Nation's writes: His Highness the Aga Khan today announced that he was making grants totalling $50 million to five institutions founded by him over the 40 years of his Imamat (spiritual leadership) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. According to PRNewswire, "The Aga Khan's family has had a tradition of international service from the time of his grandfather's presidency for two terms of the League of Nations (forerunner of the United Nations) to the service rendered to the United Nations by his late father, Prince Aly Khan, his uncle, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan and his brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan".

11 July, 1997: Titles and Awards received by H.H. the Aga Khan during the 40 years of his Imamat.

11 July, 1997:"I think the message of Islam, is the dignity with which we must treat women in society. Now, the notion of how that happens in practice, is very much a question of interpretation. But the basic premise, is the dignity and equality of women in society. And that goes right through the revelation of Islam, it goes to the tradition and the life of the Prophet, and the Prophet's wife, Khatija, was a woman who participated actively in daily life.", Said the Aga Khan in theBBC Interview as part of the program Outlook

July, 1997: Visit East African Institutions with Prince Rahim, Princess Zahra and Marc Boyden. After Nairobi (Diamond Jubilee Trust) and Kampala (IPS), visits the Serena Serengeti. Meets the Zanzibar Jamat on Sunday August 24 at the historical Zanzibar Jamatkhana.

4 September, 1997: Racing: The Irish Times reports that Bakkar, carrying the Aga Khan colours, recorded a facile victory for John Oxx and reigning champion John Murtagh when coming home well clear of the outsider, Frenchie, in the Riverstown Maiden at Dundalk yesterday afternoon. Despite running green on his debut, the son of Darshaan edged to the front at the two furlong pole before steadily drawing away from the distance to score by five and a half lengths.

September, 1997: Under the title "Who is the Aga Khan?", Marisa Bartolucci wrote in the September issue of the magazine Metropolis, "Since the days of the Fatimids, Ismaili Imams have encouraged intellectual freedom and tolerance. For them, like the Aga Khan today, the Koran and its teachings were open to each individual's interpretation and could never be dictated." The Cover page title is "Muslim Modernity: Can the Aga Khan build a new Islamic World?". Generous and complex, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture singles out projects that give back to their communities as much as they push the boundries of formal expression. Marisa Bartolucci asks why the Western world hears little about this extraordinary program and the work of its winners.

October 4, 1997: Hazar Imam was among the Royalties invited to the wedding of the Infanta Cristina, the daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain to Basque handball star Inaki Urdangarin, held in Barcelona. Royalty from all over the world, representing 40 royal families, attended this wedding.

Sept 12: ABIDJAN (Reuter) According to FRATERNITE MATIN, - Work expected to start shortly on Ivory Coast's third privately run thermal power generation facility with capacity of 420 megawatts; Government has signed protocol with consortium of Asea Brown Boveri Energy Ventures (ABBZ.S) and Aga Khan Industrial Promotion Services for investment of 165 billion CFA for plant at Azito outside Abidjan.

Nov 11-12: ABIDJAN. According to the newspaper Fraternite-Matin of Abidjan, Mr Henri Konan Bedie, president of Ivory Coast met H.H. The Aga Khan during his trip to Europe and invited him to come to his country and discuss the possibility to accelerate the development in Western Africa (namely Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal) where the Aga Khan Development Network is established since several decades. Recently the IPS (Industrial Promotion Services) which is part of the AKFED, has become partner with the Sweedish-Swiss ABB in the biggest thermal electricity plant project of Ivory Coast.

October 24: Presented the Hadrian Award to Dr Phyllis Lambert at a ceremony held at the Plaza Hotel in New York.

October: Interview by Caroline Pigozzi in Paris Match and photo by Jean-Claude Deutsch

November: Under the title A portrait of world powers, in a study of the 65 leaders who shape and rule the world, Vanity Fair writes "He is a horse breeder, newspaper proprietor, yatchsman, developer, financier, and a philanthropist of unparallel scope".

November 8: Was invited by ex-President Bush and President Clinton to the opening of the Bush Presidential Library and Museum at College Station (70 miles from Houston)

November 11 to 16th: Private visit to development projects in Western Africa starting by Abidjan in Ivory Coast, accompanied by Prince Rahim, Princess Zahra and Marc Boyden. The visit lead them to visit projects in Bouake (300 km from Abidjan), plantations in Yamassoukro and visit to Burkhina Faso. They left for Senegal on Sunday 16th. (More on the projects: see under 11-12 Nov).

PHOTO ALBUM 1997

ea1
WELCOME: The Aga Khan is garlanded by Mrs Amina Jamal, on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, last night. Chairman of the Aga Khan Council for Kenya, Dr. Nizar Verjee, (left) and Mrs Azmina Visram look on.
- Picture by Yahya Mohamed. - [East African Standard, March 11, 1997, p1]

Pics .
Here are some beautiful snaps courtesy of Rafiki Computers: pic1, Pic2, Pic3

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His Highness the Aga Khan, escorted by the foreign affairs Minister, Mr Kalonzo Musuyoka, and the Chairman of the Aga Khan Council for Kenya, Dr. Nizar Verjee (second right), bids farewell to members of the Ismailia community at the airport yesterday.
-Picture by Yusuf Wachira. [DAILY NATION, March 14, 1997, p2]

ea3
President Moi and his Highness the Aga Khan admire a special edition of the Nation' printed after the president switched on the press yesterday. At left is Group Managing Director Wilfred Kiboro (back to camera).
[DAILY NATION, March 13, 1997, p1]

ea4
President Moi acknowledges congratulations from His Highness the Aga Khan and the Nation Group Managing Director, Mr wilfred D. Kiboro, shortly after the Head of State oficially opened the Nation Printers and Publishers Limited's new printing plant on Mombasa Road.
[DAILY NATION, March 13, 1997, p2]

ea5
His Highness the Aga Khan is welcomed by the Nation Printers and Publishers Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr B. M. Gecaga, the minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Johnstone Makau, and the chief of Portocol, Mr Frost Josiah, on arrival at the printing plant site.
[DAILY NATION, March 13, 1997, p2]

ea6
President Moi presses the button to start the new press at the Nation Group watched by His Highness the Aga Khan, (right) and other guests. -Picture by Yahya Mohamed [East African Standard, March 13, 1997, p1]

ea7
His Highness the Aga Khan delivers his speech shortly before President Moi oficially opened the new printing plant.
-Picture by Yusuf Wachira - [DAILY NATION, March 13, 1997, p3]

ea8
His Highness the Aga Khan, escorted by foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka and the Aga Khan Council for Kenya Chairman, Dr Nizar Verjee (left), waves to members the Ismaili Community and other Kenyans who welcomed him on arrival at the JKIA yesterday.
[DAILY NATION, March 11, 1997, p1]

ea9
His Highness the Aga Khan (second left), and members of the Ismailia Muslim Community who turned up to receive him on arrival in Uganda at Entebe airport on Sunday. Right is Mr Amirali Karmali of Mukwano Industries. The Aga Khan is on an eight days visit to East Africa.
-Picture by Arthur Kintu - [The New Vision, March 11, 1997, p36]

9710pv1
Princess Zahra and Mr Marc Boyden at Longchamp, congratulating a jokey on October 11th.

9710pv2
The Aga Khan and Prince Amyn with Mme Chirac at Longchamps, October 11, 1997.



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