Addressing an international gathering of some 1,800 in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, he (The Aga Khan) sounded caution about the consequences of "the present level of global cultural ignorance – particularly so in the number of functioning democracies where an informed public plays a central role."
Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan
Keynote Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan Concluding the Prince Claus Fund's Conference on Culture and Development
Amsterdam, 7th September 2002
Your Majesty It is with gratitude
and admiration that I participate in this event today. It
gives me the opportunity to express publicly the enormous
respect in which I hold Prince Claus, and the very great
importance I attach to the work of the Prince Claus Fund.
I am saddened that Prince Claus cannot be with us tonight,
and I am sure that all of you will join me in requesting
Her Majesty The Queen to convey to His Royal Highness our
warmest regards and best wishes.
The founding
purpose of the Prince Claus Fund of "expanding insight
into cultures and promoting interaction between culture
and development" has been fulfilled by means of a vigorous
programme of grants, awards and publications. These actions
recognise, stimulate and support activities that share the
principles of equality, respect and trust, and have the
highest levels of quality and originality. Through them,
the Fund is making a very significant contribution in an
area which I believe will be critical to the development
of humankind in the 21st century -- the strengthening
and enhancement of pluralist civil society, in all
corners of the globe. The work that the Fund has accomplished
has given legitimacy and stimulus to the broadest range
of intellectuals, artists, and committed groups and organisations,
frequently in areas of the world where the importance of
such creativity is not recognised, and indeed, is often
repressed. These initiatives constitute highly creative
investments in the identification and premeation of forces
working for the strengthening and enhancement of the pluralism
of cultures that will provide strength into the future.
Within this
same context the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has become a
partner with Yo-Yo Ma in supporting his Silk Road Project
and developing its own Central Asian Music Initiative, both
of which involve some of the same performers who will delight
us from this stage later this evening. This event therefore
brings together three dynamic cultural institutions – the
Prince Claus Fund, the Silk Road Project, and the Aga Khan
Trust for Culture -- which singly, and together, are contributing
to the global recognition of the importance of cultural
pluralism. It also allows me to state my conviction that
the strengthening of institutions supporting pluralism is
as critical for the welfare and progress of human
society as are poverty alleviation and conflict
prevention. In fact all three are intimately related.
The field of
development has yielded more than its share of buzzwords.
Phrases like, "civil society", "poverty alleviation",
and "sustainable development" are familiar to
many of you, as is "enabling environment"
for which I must carry responsibility, since it was the
Enabling Environment Conference in Nairobi sponsored by
the Aga Khan Development Network, the World Bank and others
which brought that phrase into common use. I hope that my
remarks might release some more buzzing, because the essence
of what I will say this evening refers to "enhancing
pluralism".
I do not think
it is necessary to spend time outlining the challenge that
the process of globalisation represents vis-à-vis
the cultural fabric of our world. But it is not the
content of the new media, or even its domination by media
giants, that is the real threat. The problem is that large
segments of all societies -- in the developing world
and the developed world – are unaware of the wealth of global
cultural resources, and therefore of the need to preserve
the precious value of pluralism in their own and in other's
societies. In this regard, there has unfortunately not been
any development that parallels the recent acceptance by
international public opinion of the imperative to preserve
and enhance our natural environment and the world's cultural
heritage as "public goods", worthy of general
support.
I would go even
further and say that the inability of human society to recognise
pluralism as a fundamental value constitutes a real handicap
for its development and a serious danger for our future.
Since the end of the Cold War, a number of factors appear
to have been common and significant ingredients, if not
the primary cause, of many of the conflicts we have witnessed.
Perhaps the most common of these ingredients has
been the failure of those involved to recognise the fact
that human society is essentially pluralist, and
that peace and development require that we seek, by every
means possible, to invest in and enhance, that pluralism.
Those groups that seek to standardise, homogenise, or if
you will allow me, to normatise all that and those around
them must be actively resisted through countervailing activities.
Whether it be
in Central Europe, the Great Lakes region in Africa, or
in Afghanistan -- to cite just one example from three different
continents -- one of the common denominators has been the
attempt by communal groups, be they ethnic, religious, or
tribal groups, to impose themselves on others. All such
attempts are based on the principle of eradicating the cultural
basis that provides group identity. Without cultural identity,
social cohesion gradually dissolves and human groups lose
their necessary point of reference to relate with each other,
and with other groups.
A necessary
condition for pluralism to succeed is that the general education
of the populations involved must be sufficiently complete
so that individual groups, defined by ethnicity, religion,
language and the like, understand the potential consequences
of actions that might impinge on others. This is, for example,
one of the principal reasons why today there is so much
uninformed speculation about conflict between the Muslim
world and others. For instance, the historic root causes
of conflict in the Middle East or in Kashmir are not addressed
at any level of general education in the most
powerful western democracies that dominate world affairs.
I must
say that, as a Muslim, I stand here in front of you in amazement
that the Western world had to experience the revolution
in Iran to learn about Shia Islam, or the civil war in Afghanistan
to learn about Wahhabi Islam. Please remember that we are
talking about a religion followed by one-fifth of the world's
population! This is the equivalent of Muslims being unaware
of the distinction between Catholics and Protestants within
Christianity. The point I wish to make is that the governments,
civil societies and the peoples of this world will be unable
to build strong pluralist societies with the present level
of global cultural ignorance, and particularly about its
pluralism. Even the most developed countries will need a
massive effort to educate the world's youth in a more thoughtful,
competent and complete manner for the global responsibilities
which they will be expected to fulfil, and particularly
so in the increasing number of functioning democracies where
an informed public plays such a central role.
The actions
to enhance pluralism have to be matched in the developing
world by programmes to alleviate poverty because, left alone,
poverty will provide a context for special interests to
pursue their goals in aggressive terms. Urgent humanitarian
assistance is indispensable, but should be conceived as
part of a long-term strategy of helping the recipient community
develop its own resources that can support the improvement
of the socio-economic conditions of the poorer segments
of the population, and charitable support for those unable
to work.
As you know,
development is sustainable only if the beneficiaries become,
in a gradual manner, the masters of the process. This means
that initiatives cannot be contemplated exclusively in terms
of economics, but rather as an integrated programme
that encompasses social and cultural dimensions as well.
Education and skills training, health and public services,
conservation of cultural heritage, infrastructure development,
urban planning and rehabilitation, rural development, water
and energy management, environmental control, and even policy
and legislative development are among the various aspects
that must be taken into account.
To illustrate
this approach, I would like to say something about the work
that the Aga Khan Development Network has recently launched
in Afghanistan. The scenario is dramatic: a country destroyed
by decades of war, lacking basic infrastructure, economic
resources, institutional fabric, and suffering from strong
antagonistic social and religious forces. The government
must also facilitate the return to the country of hundreds
of thousands of displaced families, feed the population,
restore agricultural production, provide essential social
services, eradicate drug-related crops and their ancillary
industries, and last, but most essentially, consolidate
a culture of tolerance, based on the mutual understanding
between peoples of different origins and languages.
In this context
the Aga Khan Development Network has started work in Afghanistan
based on an accord signed with the Government. In the first
phase, priority is being given to responding to the most
pressing problems. Activities that are underway include
the provision of humanitarian aid to address the food shortage
in the country and the needs of hundreds of thousands of
displaced people, by facilitating the resettlement of refugees,
and by undertaking the rehabilitation of buildings and public
works required to provide basic social services.
Simultaneously,
planning is underway to help address the country's needs
in terms of building human and institutional capacity for
social and economic development. Steps are being taken to
revive and up date institutions for the training of teachers
and nurses to meet the needs of urban and rural populations.
Work is underway on the reform of school curriculum in accordance
with the government's guidelines and current international
experience, and making basic health services accessible
to all. A microfinance facility is being established to
provide financing for agriculture, micro-enterprise, small
business including cultural enterprises, and the special
needs of refugees returning to properties that have been
destroyed.
In all of this
work, the cultural dimension is pivotal because of the pluralistic
nature of Afghan culture, and the severe stress it has endured
in the recent past. As an initial undertaking the Aga Khan
Trust for Culture is working in Kabul on the rehabilitation
of the historic fabric of the ancient city, its monumental
buildings, and traditional housing and decayed public spaces.
These projects are centred around two significant historic
sites: the Mausoleum of Timur Shah, considered by many to
be the founder of modern Afghanistan, and the Paradise Garden
of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian
subcontinent. The goals range from the lofty -- the preservation
and restoration of symbolic monuments of Afghan history
and cultural identity, to the very practical – immediate
employment opportunities and the rebuilding of marketable
skills. All of them are essential to enable the people of
Afghanistan to rebuild their country in peace and dignity.
I would like
to leave you with a final thought, and some questions and
conclusions that flow from it. Developing support for pluralism
does not occur naturally in human society. It is a concept
which must be nurtured every day, in every forum -- in large
and small government and private institutions; in civil
society organisations working in the arts, culture, and
public affairs, in the media; in the law, and in justice
-- particularly in terms of social justice, such as health,
social safety nets and education; and in economic justice,
such as employment opportunities and access to financial
services.
In
addition each of us can help enhance pluralism in our own
personal, professional and institutional domains. We could
play our role in favour of pluralism as public opinion makers.
We could participate in and support the efforts of groups
and NGOs that promote that cause. We could volunteer our
professional competences in a variety of fields, such as
academic, technical or managerial. We could, also, serve
the cause of pluralism simply through the conduct of tolerance,
openness and understanding towards other peoples' cultures,
social structures, values and faiths, and thereby set an
effective example in our own society.
My hope is that
society as a whole will not only accept the fact of its
plurality, but, as a consequence, will undertake, as a solemn
responsibility, to preserve and enhance it as one of its
fundamental values, and an inescapable condition
for world peace and further human development.
Thank you.
Honourable Ministers
Excellencies
Directors of the Prince Claus Fund
Ladies and Gentlemen,
