Why Establish a Global Centre for Pluralism?
The Global Centre for Pluralism is a new international initiative of His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th hereditary Imam of Ismaili Muslims. Dedicated to the creation of successful societies, the Centre is founded on the premise that tolerance, openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and faiths of other peoples are now essential to the very survival of an interdependent world. Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development. It is vital to our existence.
The need for such an institution has never been greater. The end of the Cold War in 1991 rekindled the flames of ethnic nationalism in many parts of the world, causing inter-group tensions in some multinational and polyethnic states to boil over into armed and, in some cases, genocidal conflict. At the same time, unprecedented levels of international migration to Europe, North America and Australasia, precipitated in part by the globalization of capital and markets, have raised pressing questions about the relationship of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities to majority cultures. Finding ways to accommodate difference without division has become one of the greatest challenges of our time.
Origins of the Idea
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, His Highness the Aga Khan began asking Canadian leaders to explain the key to Canada’s success managing its own diversity. In July 2001, a formal Pluralism Initiative was launched to understand how and why Canada’s unique experiment works and how its lessons might be shared with other culturally diverse societies around the world. A research program and a series of consultations with Canadian leaders, officials, academics and cultural groups as well as world leaders led to the decision to establish in Ottawa a major new international institution dedicated to the promotion of successful pluralist societies in collaboration with the Government of Canada and Canadian institutions.
Mission and Mandate
The mission of the Global Centre for Pluralism is to promote pluralism as a fundamental human value and cornerstone of peace, stability and development. Ensuring that every individual – irrespective of cultural, ethnic or religious differences – has the opportunity to realize his or her full potential as a citizen is a vital part of this mission. To this end, the Centre will function as a global repository and source for knowledge and know-how about fostering pluralistic values, policies, and practices in a variety of settings.
Stakeholders and Beneficiaries
Because the challenge of managing diversity is one shared by countries around the world at every stage of development, the Centre will engage with culturally diverse societies in industrialized as well as developing countries. It will also seek to learn from and share the lessons of countries such as Canada, India and Malaysia, each of which has evolved its own “diversity model”. The Centre will engage with a wide range of potential partners, among them national and local governments, civil society organizations, research institutes, and academic institutions. Its programs will be demand-driven, relying on local knowledge and responding to the needs and aspirations identified by partners. Where possible, the Centre will also collaborate with multilateral organizations, bilateral development agencies, private foundations and think tanks, and academic institutions.
Programs
The Centre will serve the global community as an international centre of excellence for the study, practice and teaching of pluralism. Its core functions will include research, curriculum development and reform, continuing education, dialogue and exchange, governance reform, and cultural events. The diagram below highlights the Centre’s core functions.
Global Centre for Pluralism – Core Functions
The Centre’s varied programs will share a common purpose: to bring together change enablers and opinion-makers of all kinds – legislators, jurists, public servants, educators, researchers, development practitioners, journalists, activists and advocates – from different countries and sectors to share their own expertise and to learn from the experiences of others.
Long-term Impact
Successful pluralist societies are civic communities which have evolved institutional mechanisms to manage conflict through political means. Supported by liberal democratic institutions of governance, and guided by a culture of compromise, such successful pluralist societies foster the equal participation of all people in political, economic, educational and sociocultural life – encouraging individuals and groups to retain their cultural, linguistic and religious heritage within a framework of shared citizenship. Fostering change of this magnitude will not happen overnight. Each society must negotiate not only a shared vision of the future but also a renewed understanding of the past. The Centre is therefore committed to long-term, generational change that builds human capacity and security; promotes the adoption of new values and ways of relating to other people; creates new economic opportunities; fosters equality and a shared perception of justice; and spawns civic cultures that value and represent the diversity of the entire society.
Commitment to Success
The Global Centre for Pluralism will be located in Canada – a country that epitomizes what can be achieved through a commitment to pluralism. As an expression of this commitment, the Government of Canada is providing significant financial and intellectual support to the Centre, with a contribution of $30 million to the Centre’s endowment fund. His Highness the Aga Khan is also providing up to $30 million, which will be used to augment the endowment fund and for the refurbishment of the former Canadian War Museum as the Centre’s permanent facility.
Governance, Leadership and Human Resources
Registered under Canadian law as a non-denominational, bilingual, non-profit organization, the Centre will be guided by an independent Board of Governors made up of leading Canadians and high profile individuals from other regions of the world. The Board will be jointly constituted by the Aga Khan Development Network and the Government of Canada. His Highness the Aga Khan will lead the Board as Chairman. Once constituted, the Board will select a chief executive officer who will form and lead an entrepreneurial professional team based in Ottawa.
Global Reach
Pluralist societies are not accidents of history. They are products of choice that require enlightened education and continuous investments by governments, civil societies and individual citizens in recognizing and celebrating their own diversity. Every multicultural society faces its own particular set of challenges, depending on whether the diversity of the community predates the formation of the state or has come about through immigration. For some, managing diversity is a historical obligation to address the claims of one or more national minorities. For others, such as the newly independent states of Central Asia or European countries struggling to accommodate ethnic and religious minority communities, it is a relatively new preoccupation.
The Global Centre for Pluralism will help governments and civil societies around the world make informed choices about how to reinvent themselves as successful pluralist societies or to strengthen existing policies and practices. With its global reach, the Centre will draw on the expertise and resources of the international community to pool the experiences of different countries and societies to make their knowledge and know-how available to all.
Global Centre for Pluralism October 18, 2006
Ismailimail 
The Global Centre for Pluralism in its ‘Core Functions’ section mentions that its varied programs and common purpose will bring together change enablers and opinion-makers such as “legislators, jurists, public servants, educators, researchers, development practitioners, journalists, activists and advocates from different countries and sectors to share their own expertise and to learn from the experiences of others”. Since religion is such a huge factor in the life of the people whom the Aga Kahn represents and is a huge determiner of the values, the vision and the commitment in ultimately realizing equality and justice for all people why are are persons like me ( arelgious Sister) or clergy and missionaries not represented? The religious of the world play a huge role in all countries in their ministry of educators and care-givers for justice and the dignity of all people. We need to hear their wisdom and inspiration. We need to hear their voice .. to give voice to silent suffering.
LikeLike
It is has come to be understood in Canada, and reaffirmed through its international development programs, that pluralism, in its many facets, is a significant factor in founding any society’s stable future. Its presence leads to more tolerant, peaceful and thus healthier societies.
His Highness the Aga Khan recognizes that Canada as a nation possesses an extraordinary example of socio-political pluralism, which I would suggest, for many Canadians, is taken for granted. Certainly it is not yet well understood as a model.
The decision to establish the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa is a privilege for Canada. Both this nation, and so many others, have democratic and social systems worthy of assessment for a better understanding of practices, lessons and potential knowledge transfer. To envision that through the Centre’s presence, its visitors, its actions and its influence will resonate to leaders as well as citizenry is a very positive concept in an era where good governance and the embrace of diversity has been losing ground.
A Canadian citizen and resident, I fully support this longstanding initiative of His Highness the Aga Khan and the collaboration with the Government of Canada and its cultural institutions. I certainly hope that the list of collaborators will grow exponentially.
LikeLike
Canada is unique and we often take things for granted the Multicultural and Pluralist tradition, Canada has the potential to lead the world in most postive way in the world and offer Global leadership at time When it is most needed, Canadians have an overall high ethical standards and are very caring people, this makes Canada most ideal place for such a think tank, Where we could bring people like Jimmy Carter to share his experiences in the field of humanitarian work and new ideas of making Pluralism work. The Global Center has a potential to change the way how we and Governments deal with diversity and conflict and bring about a Global voice for hope for their Citizens and build civil societies focused on tolearance and improving the quality of human life.
Here is what Jennifer Welsh has to say about Pluralism.
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canada-magazine/issue23/01-title-en.asp
Jennifer Welsh is the author of At Home in the World, a new book that offers a vision of Canada’s role on the global stage. Welsh, a former Cadieux Research Fellow in Foreign Affairs Canada’s Policy Planning Bureau, holds master’s and doctorate degrees in international relations from the University of Oxford and has written three books on international relations.
In order for Canada to play a new part on the global stage in the 21st century, we need to shed some of the traditional myths that have dominated our international identity for the past half-century. We should conceive of Canada not in traditional terms, as a middle power, but as a citizen in the world of nation-states. In fact, I believe Canada has the potential to be a model citizen for the 21st century.
Both words—”model” and “citizen”—are crucial to my vision. First, the notion of a model suggests a different approach to effecting change. A crucial aspect of Canadian foreign policy today is simply being what we are: a particular, and highly successful, model of liberal democracy.
Our model privileges pluralism, as reflected in our federal structure, our official policy of bilingualism and our immigration and refugee policy. It prizes mixed government, by balancing legislative decision making with an activist court and a robust human rights culture. Our model makes risk a collective problem for society, by establishing a set of state-funded benefits that Canadians can draw upon in their time of need. It seeks a balance between providing greater security for citizens in a world of terrorism and other transnational threats, and respecting hard-won civil and political liberties. The Canadian model is also extremely civil, as seen in our crime levels, the vitality of our cities and the success of our artists. Most of all, our model of democracy is internationalist, in embracing free trade and multilateral cooperation, but is also confident in its ability to sustain a unique national identity. All of these aspects of the Canadian model are exceedingly attractive. And what is attractive creates a magnetic effect. It induces others to emulate what we do, to forge better and closer relationships with us.
LikeLike