Speech by Aga Khan University Trustee Princess Zahra Aga Khan, on the occasion of the Aga Khan University Founder's Day, the 40th anniversary, and the convocation of the Class of 2022
By Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Karachi, Pakistan · · 3 min
AKDN / Amir Hakim
Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim
Our Chief Guest, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of Sindh
Chairman Zakir Mahmood and Members of the AKU Board of Trustees
President Sulaiman Shahabuddin
Provost, deans, faculty, alumni and staff of the University
Parents and family members
Distinguished guests and most importantly,
The members of the Class of 2022:
Thirty years ago, my father, His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor of the Aga Khan University, visited Karachi to celebrate AKU's 10th anniversary and speak to its graduating class. Just a few months after my own university graduation, I accompanied him. And I remember that visit very well.
On that occasion, the Chancellor discussed the unique power of universities: their capacity to gather experts and knowledge from all quarters, and to use knowledge to solve pressing problems.
He asked what a university is, and defined it as: "an institution dedicated to proceeding beyond known limits". That being the case, he asked what universities need to flourish. And he reflected: the freedom and confidence to be bold.
He considered the role of universities such as AKU, and concluded they can plant seeds of change that ultimately benefit people far beyond their campuses. He also looked to AKU's future – voicing aspirations that the University has since fulfilled.
But perhaps most memorably, and most movingly, he spoke of his gratitude. AKU's supporters, faculty, and staff had given it what he called "a magnificent gift" – a gift that filled him "not only with admiration but, frankly, with amazement."
Today, I share that admiration, that amazement, and that gratitude. As we mark its inaugural Founder's Day, its 40th anniversary, and the graduation of the Class of 2022, AKU has never had more to celebrate. I am deeply, deeply grateful to everyone who has made its journey possible.
After more than three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to offer special thanks to all the healthcare professionals at AKU, and elsewhere, who have fought so bravely to care for victims of the virus, and to prevent its spread. Your work has been a magnificent gift to the world.
While events beyond the University's control required curtailing the scope of our celebrations in Karachi this week, I trust that will not diminish the pride that those watching from home feel on this occasion. For me, knowing that we are reaching across the globe to connect with one another gives today a special resonance.
In a short time, we will watch our newest graduates receive their degrees. I hope that all of you will feel what I know to be true: that you have given these young women and men the magnificent gift of a bright future.
That you have helped them to acquire broad horizons, new capacities for thought and action, and a well-founded confidence in their potential.
His Highness deeply regrets being unable to participate in person in this triple celebration. At his request, I will now read his message.
Thank you.