What Have I Helped Others to Achieve?
Image credit: DFID - UK Department for International Development via Wikimedia Commons
Thanks to Al Nameera Meghjani for suggesting this inspirational quotation from Aga Khan IV in her Scholar Spotlight feature!
Aga Khan IV (1936-) is the current Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
The Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather as Imam in 1957 at the age of 20. Upon assuming the position, he continued his grandfather's mission to improve the quality of life for Ismaili peoples, assist refugees, and advocate for positive relations between people of different ethnicities.
In 1967 he founded the Aga Khan Development Network, a network of private, non-denominational development agencies which address health, education, culture, rural development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development in the poorest parts of the world. Today the organisation coordinates over 200 agencies and employs 96,000 people in over 30 countries around the world, notably at health and education facilities.
Hello! I was Laidlaw scholar in 2019, and I studied national, regional, and local identity in northern Tajikistan through the lens of women's fashion. For a year after graduating, I worked for the UN Mine Action Service which removes landmines from conflict and post-conflict regions. I then worked for the Laidlaw Foundation 2021-22 and completed a Master's Degree in Anthropology and Development Management at the London School of Economics. Now I'm working with the UN on innovative finance for biodiversity conservation, focusing on marine ecosystems.
Please feel free to reach out on the network, on LinkedIn, or by email. I'm always happy to meet new people and chat.
