Action for Social Cohesion in Central Asia
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Social cohesion — trust and cooperation in society — can be essential in tackling the underlying issues of fragility and conflict. On September 18, 2017, an event titled Civil Society in Fragile Contexts: A Focus on Central Asia, co-hosted with the British Council, highlighted experience from several organizations including the Social Cohesion through Community-Based […]
Measuring Social Cohesion
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Social cohesion — trust and cooperation in society — can be essential in tackling the underlying issues that can increase the risk of fragility and conflict. It has emerged over the last two decades as an important concept in both academic and political discourse, especially in fragile environments. At the same time, the evidence on […]
Forbes: 16 Companies Considered ‘Best For The World’
The B Corp “Best for the World List” recently recognized Roshan as one company creating the most impact for a better world. Prior to Roshan’s founding, there was no telecommunications infrastructure in Afghanistan and it was difficult to make calls all over the country. Roshan is backed by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, […]
Toward New Strategies for Civil Society Development in Africa
Civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world play a key role in providing local services, building community cohesion, and helping communities better engage with governments. However, in many places CSOs also face steep challenges. This is especially true in Africa, where civil society has an incredibly important function in improving the quality of life for […]
Social Cohesion as a Process
The growing number of conflict zones around the world highlights the need to better understand the dynamics of social cohesion, especially for preserving peace-time progress in developing countries. In our work, the term social cohesion refers to the process of strengthening communities so people can work together to resolve shared challenges in a way that promotes a […]
Fellows Spotlight: Values – the Binding Component
A little over one year ago to the day, I had my final Fellows interview with Dr. Mirza Jahani, the CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) along with the Fellowship Coordinator. It was a nerve-racking 45-minutes, and my textbook answer to his real-life question seemed to satisfy for a few moments, until he asked […]
Fellows Spotlight: Gaining New Perspectives, from Dushanbe to DC
Before starting the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) fellowship in November 2013, I was working as a Grants Finance Officer for Aga Khan Foundation Tajikistan, which targets a number of development challenges by forming intellectual and financial partnerships with organizations that share its objectives. As part of a team, I helped to implement projects […]
Making Local Ownership Real: Moving Beyond the Buzzwords
“Local ownership” has been a buzzword for a long time and is widely touted as a better way forward for international development. For the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), local ownership is much more than a buzzword; it is a guiding force to reach long-term impact. Local initiative reduces the dependency of local organizations on […]
Social Cohesion in Kyrgyzstan through a Participatory Lens
In November 2013, we met with our partners in Kyrgyzstan to plan the start-up of a new World Bank-funded grant on social cohesion. This exciting project aims to study how a participatory approach to development influences the cohesion of a community. The term ‘social cohesion’ refers to the process of strengthening communities so people can […]
New Agreement Between Aga Khan Foundation and the World Bank Launches Program for Social Cohesion in the Kyrgyz Republic
WASHINGTON, DC, JANUARY 17, 2014 – The Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) and the World Bank have inaugurated a program to identify factors and strengthen social cohesion in the Kyrgyz Republic and pilot new social and infrastructure approaches for studying the elements and enabling factors for civil society. The strong coalition of implementing and research partners also includes […]