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The Hunza Development Forum is a collaborative platform dedicated to sharing knowledge, ideas, and innovative solutions aimed at fostering sustainable development in Gilgit-Baltistan, with a particular emphasis on empowering the people of Hunza. The forum seeks to build a vibrant and competent civil society, which is considered the cornerstone of a healthy and prosperous nation committed to the public good.
Key objectives of the forum include:
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Equitable Access to Quality Education: Ensuring that all individuals, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, or location, have access to quality education at all levels.
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Curriculum Development: Developing curricula that integrate traditional knowledge with modern scientific and technological advancements, promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.
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Participatory Governance: Promoting inclusive and participatory decision-making processes ensures that all community members have a voice in shaping their future.
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Preserving Cultural Heritage: Documenting and preserving traditional knowledge and cultural practices and integrating cultural heritage into education and development initiatives.
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Sustainable Development: Advocating for environmental stewardship through sustainable resource management and conservation practices, educating the community about the impacts of climate change, and promoting adaptation strategies.
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Economic Diversification: Supporting sustainable tourism development and other economic sectors and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.
Fascilitate the Establishment of an Egalitarian Knowledge society in the region.
Create awareness on the topic of REORIENTATION and RESTRUCTURING: In February 2000, Mawla Shah Karim ul-Hussaini summoned four Institutional leaders from Pakistan. In this Mulaqat, one of the important topics was the ‘REORIENTATION and RESTRUCTURING’ of AKDN and Jamati Institutions in Pakistan. Mawla had assigned me ( VP of Council in Pakistan) to announce this immediately with the government (for AKDN) and within the Jamat for Jamati Institutions. Detailed TALIQAs on the topic followed in subsequent months and years, and I did not see any progress. I started an awareness campaign, first with the Jamati leadership and then with prominent Jamati members in 2013. I am enclosing the gist of this campaign.
EXTRACT: “That intellect is what separates Man from the rest of the physical world in which he lives. And as we develop not only our primary education but also our secondary education, I hope that my Jamat will find great happiness in reading the new books that we will make available on the history of thought, the history of faith within Shia Islam. This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand, and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives. Of that I am certain.
MHI, 17 August 2007
"Since 1957, it has been my objective to retrieve from our history and strengthen, by present-day endeavours, the magnificent Shia Imami Ismaili identity and its inter-relationships with other Muslim schools of interpretation, thought, and practice of the faith. I feel that, at this juncture in the Jamat’s history, when different traditions are beginning to converge, it is particularly important to bring forward those aspects of faith and practice, including diverse forms of devotional expression, that are rooted in the Shia Ismaili Tariqah of Islam as interpreted by the Imam-of-the-Time.
I am happy to inform my Jamat that background work and reflection on these matters are at an advanced stage, and you know the work that has been done by The Institute of Ismaili Studies and the Tariqah and Religious Education Boards during the past years to go back into our history to find the varied strains that have been part of our history in the Arab world, in the Asian world, so that all Jamats, from whatever backgrounds, will be able to identify themselves with the practice at this time of our faith. I am happy to inform my Jamat that we have reached some good conclusions of this work, and the implementation of this work will be taken forward over the next year by the ITREBs and the IIS, as the relevant texts are finalised.
Throughout the Jamat’s history, including during the Fatimid times, a consistent feature of the Ismaili Tariqah has been the complementarity between practices that are specific to our Tariqah, and those that are part of the Sharia, common to all Muslims, albeit with denominational specificities. Examples of this are the historic co-existence between Namaz and Du’a, and the concept of private prayer and personal search, which has an important place in Islam since it concerns the relationship of faith with life. It is in this light that, in Shia Ismaili Islam, the Imam-of-the-Time recognises a variety of prayers, tasbihs, Bait-ul-Khayal, Qaseedas, Ginans, by which an individual can submit to the Divine and protect himself or herself against the materialism of secular life, and the many other challenges of daily life.
It is my wish that this understanding of our faith’s practices should be formally reflected in our Jamat’s religious education, particularly in the secondary school curriculum, which is currently under preparation at The Institute of Ismaili Studies
It is also in this context that I have instructed my institutions to make available to the Jamat globally, within the next year or so, a formal, uniform text of the Shia Imami Ismaili Namaz that I will have approved. This text, which is fully aligned with most forms of Namaz practised historically within the Jamat, and in many other schools of Islam, will reflect the centrality of the hereditary Imamat in our Tariqah. It will also affirm the principle of each individual’s personal search as guided by the Imam-of-the-Time and the Jamat’s historic commitment to the notion of a common humanity."
MHI - 13 December 2008
MY COMMENTS:
ORIENTATION (read unit 1.1):
A range of terms are applied to what people consider of absolute significance to them. They may refer, for example, to their way of life, worldview, or overarching vision.
A 'way of life points to a mode of living, based on certain norms and beliefs, which a group of people follows.
A 'worldview' implies an all-encompassing explanation of the world.
A 'vision' refers to ideals or prospective which guide a people's engagement with the world. Such terms have their own specific meanings in the context in which they are used. These kinds of terms find to an ultimate orientation by which people may order their lives. The word 'orientation' means the act of turning towards where one wishes to go. It also has a broader sense of referring to the basic beliefs and values which guide an individual or a group of people.
An ultimate orientation has to do with one's sense of place in the cosmos or in the overall scheme of things. When we 'orient' ourselves in this way we turn our thoughts, words and deeds towards what is of absolute worth to us.
Book - "Where Hope Takes Root" authored by MHI.
TALIM CURRICULUM - the relevant beliefs now available through the TALIM curriculum rather than the POLLUTED forms of "DAS AVTAR" scripture compiled by Pir Saddruddin or Wajh-e-Din/Zadul-Musafirin compiled by Pir Nasir-e-Khisraw.
CIVIL SOCIETY LEARNING PUBLICATIONS. Explains the working of JIs.
THE ISMAILI CONSTITUTION – Read Articles 18 & 19. Due to the differing social, economic, and political realities faced by the Nizari diaspora, the constitution has built-in flexibility, allowing various communities the ability to propose rules and regulations unique to individual communities, while retaining the overall unity of framework with all other communities, through detailed provisions within the constitution.
NOTE: Please read UNIT 1.1 of the book FAITH AND PRACTICE VOLUME 1 to capture the significance of the guidance on REORIENTATION and RESTRUCTURING.
Also see Page 39 Faith and Practice vol 2
The forum also emphasizes the importance of digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and data analysis as essential skills for the future. It aims to empower the community by providing education and training that foster these competencies.
The Hunza Development Forum aspires to shape a brighter future for the region through dialogue, education, and community-driven initiatives.
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