section_path: Other activities/Aga Khan Development Network
section_name: Aga Khan Development Network
paragraph_text: Aga Khan Development Network
  
  Al-Husseini founded and chaired the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of over 200 affiliated agencies and institutions operating primarily in developing countries. AKDN employs approximately 80,000 staff. It is funded through contributions from members of the Ismaili community as well as partnerships with various governments and international organisations. AKDN’s work spans sectors including health, education, culture, rural development, institutional support, and economic development, with a particular focus on regions in the Global South.
  
  AKDN includes the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia, the for-profit Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Health Services, the Aga Khan Education Services, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance. One of the companies that the AKFED is the main shareholder of is the Serena Hotels Group – a chain of luxury hotels and resorts primarily located in Africa and Asia. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is the largest architectural award in the world. Al-Husseini was also the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, which he founded in 1977.
  
  Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an affiliate of the AKDN, is responsible for emergency response in the face of disaster. Recent disasters that FOCUS was involved in helping address include the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan (AKDN earthquake response) and the South Asian tsunami.
  
  Significant recent or current projects that are related to the development and that were being led by al-Husseini include the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, the Bagh-e Babur restoration in Kabul, the Sunder Nursery in Delhi and a network of full IB residential schools known as the Aga Khan Academies.
  
  In a 2006 speech at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, where he received the Tolerance Prize, al-Husseini noted his reservations about characterising the work of the Aga Khan Development Network as philanthropy:
  
  Reflecting a certain historical tendency of the West to separate the secular from the religious, they often describe either as philanthropy or entrepreneurship. What is not understood is that this work is for us a part of our institutional responsibility – it flows from the mandate of the office of Imam to improve the quality of worldly life for the concerned communities.
  
  He was also a vice-president of the Royal Commonwealth Society till 2025.
  
  In March 2019, al-Husseini was named the Global Founding Patron of the Prince’s Trust Group by Charles, then the Prince of Wales. The appointment was announced at a dinner at Buckingham Palace. According to the Prince’s Trust Group, his support has contributed to programmes that reached over 30,000 young people between 2019 and 2025.
  
  The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a founding partner of the Paris Peace Forum. The Forum was launched on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, marking the end of World War I. The Paris Peace Forum is an international multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to global governance solutions. AKDN is a Strategic Partner and represent itself in the Governance of the Forum's Executive Committee and General Assembly.
  
  Al-Husseini founded and chaired the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of over 200 affiliated agencies and institutions operating primarily in developing countries. AKDN employs approximately 80,000 staff. It is funded through contributions from members of the Ismaili community as well as partnerships with various governments and international organisations. AKDN’s work spans sectors including health, education, culture, rural development, institutional support, and economic development, with a particular focus on regions in the Global South.
  
  AKDN includes the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia, the for-profit Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Health Services, the Aga Khan Education Services, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance. One of the companies that the AKFED is the main shareholder of is the Serena Hotels Group – a chain of luxury hotels and resorts primarily located in Africa and Asia. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is the largest architectural award in the world. Al-Husseini was also the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, which he founded in 1977.
  
  Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an affiliate of the AKDN, is responsible for emergency response in the face of disaster. Recent disasters that FOCUS was involved in helping address include the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan (AKDN earthquake response) and the South Asian tsunami.
  
  Significant recent or current projects that are related to the development and that were being led by al-Husseini include the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, the Bagh-e Babur restoration in Kabul, the Sunder Nursery in Delhi and a network of full IB residential schools known as the Aga Khan Academies.
  
  In a 2006 speech at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, where he received the Tolerance Prize, al-Husseini noted his reservations about characterising the work of the Aga Khan Development Network as philanthropy:
  
  Reflecting a certain historical tendency of the West to separate the secular from the religious, they often describe either as philanthropy or entrepreneurship. What is not understood is that this work is for us a part of our institutional responsibility – it flows from the mandate of the office of Imam to improve the quality of worldly life for the concerned communities.
  
  He was also a vice-president of the Royal Commonwealth Society till 2025.
  
  In March 2019, al-Husseini was named the Global Founding Patron of the Prince’s Trust Group by Charles, then the Prince of Wales. The appointment was announced at a dinner at Buckingham Palace. According to the Prince’s Trust Group, his support has contributed to programmes that reached over 30,000 young people between 2019 and 2025.
  
  The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a founding partner of the Paris Peace Forum. The Forum was launched on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, marking the end of World War I. The Paris Peace Forum is an international multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to global governance solutions. AKDN is a Strategic Partner and represent itself in the Governance of the Forum's Executive Committee and General Assembly.